Summary: In a speech celebrating the 105th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi Jinping reviewed the Party’s history, emphasized its achievements, and outlined “five musts” for the future. He stressed that Party building is a crucial instrument for national development, and called for continued self-reform and strict governance. The article applies Xi’s Party-building thought to the People’s Courts, urging absolute Party leadership, deeper integration of Party work with judicial duties, and high-quality trial work to serve Chinese modernization. No mention is made of the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: The article, authored by a scholar from the Central Party School (National Academy of Governance), summarizes Xi Jinping’s call for a "correct view of Party history" as a guiding principle for CPC historiography. Xi stressed that this view combats historical nihilism and fragmented research by adhering to a holistic, materialist approach grounded in "seeking truth from facts." The correct view is defined by four dimensions: a grand historical perspective, empirical methodology, a people-centered stance, and recognition of objective historical laws. It also underpins the construction of an autonomous Chinese knowledge system for CPC history, a goal Xi linked to developing a distinctly Chinese philosophy and social sciences. The article does not discuss the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: The article emphasizes the Chinese Communist Party's commitment to staying ahead of the times by embracing change and innovation. It highlights the Party's historical awareness and global perspective in guiding China's development. The Party is portrayed as a vanguard and backbone of the nation, leading it forward in line with historical and contemporary trends.
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Summary: The article analyzes how AI is systematically replacing standardized knowledge-based jobs, with youth employment in AI-heavy sectors dropping nearly 16% in the U.S. and South Korea. It warns of long-term structural unemployment as middle-skill positions disappear, exacerbating income inequality between capital owners and ordinary workers. Major economies, including Singapore, the U.K., and Germany, are establishing multi-stakeholder governance frameworks to reskill workers and extend lifelong learning. The EU’s AI Act mandates employment impact assessments and transition periods before automation deployment, while France and the Nordics explore redistribution mechanisms like AI profit taxes. The author, from China’s National Development and Reform Commission, urges building an employment governance system suited to the AI era.
Summary: In his keynote at the 2026 World AI Conference, President Xi Jinping called for using shared human values to shape AI ethics and foster cross-civilization understanding. He noted AI's potential to break language barriers and enable immersive cultural exchange, but warned of challenges including biased training data favoring Western perspectives, algorithmic polarization, and risks of cultural infiltration. The article proposes building a global diverse corpus, embedding universal human values into AI algorithms, and establishing a multilateral governance framework to counter these issues. No accompanying officials were reported.
Summary: The article analyzes the growing trend of "Extreme Sinicization" and "Becoming Chinese" among overseas Gen Z users, particularly from the U.S. and Europe, who immerse themselves in Chinese daily life practices such as drinking hot water, foot soaks, and tai chi. Unlike official state-led campaigns, this wave is driven by grassroots, self-produced content on platforms like TikTok and YouTube, focusing on real-life experiences rather than traditional cultural symbols. Key drivers include China's rising global influence, disillusionment with Western modernity's social and spiritual shortcomings, and the organic, relatable nature of the content. The article recommends leveraging this phenomenon by showcasing diverse local realities, deepening cultural value interpretation, and expanding reach through light, interactive, and targeted short-video strategies.
Summary: The article explains that Xi Jinping's thought on Party building, as part of the "14 Persistences," prioritizes political construction as the overarching guide for all Party work. It traces the historical importance of political loyalty from Mao through Deng, emphasizing that the CCP's strength relies on maintaining political discipline. Under Xi, the Party has institutionalized political construction as the fundamental task, with key documents and speeches reinforcing its primacy since the 19th National Congress. The text details how political construction must lead ideological, organizational, disciplinary, and anti-corruption efforts, ensuring unity with the Central Committee. No mention is made of the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: President Xi Jinping emphasized that political construction is the fundamental building block of the Party, determining its direction and effectiveness, and is positioned as the overarching principle in his "Ten Insistences" framework. The article stresses that prioritizing political construction is essential for understanding the Party’s development logic and addressing the root causes of internal issues like corruption and lax discipline, which stem from political deviation. It highlights historical lessons from the Gutian Conference and Zunyi Meeting, asserting that political unity has been crucial for the Party's survival and success. Xi underscored that the primary task now is to ensure "two upholds" (upholding Xi’s core status and the Party’s centralized leadership) and to deepen political construction as a permanent, fundamental task. The piece concludes that maintaining a healthy political ecosystem and aligning with popular support are vital for the Party to remain the strong leading core of the socialist cause.
Summary: The article discusses Xi Jinping’s "correct view of Party history," which he has articulated as a fundamental guiding principle for studying the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) history. Xi emphasized that this view counters historical nihilism and fragmented academic approaches by insisting on a macro-historical perspective grounded in "seeking truth from facts" and adherence to the Party’s three historical resolutions. The article states that Xi linked this correct view to the broader goal of constructing an independent Chinese knowledge system for CCP history, free from Western theoretical frameworks. It also notes that Xi highlighted the need to evaluate historical figures and periods within their specific historical conditions, rejecting any attempt to distort or separate the Party’s past. The piece does not mention any accompanying officials or discuss U.S.-China relations.
Summary: This article, authored by the political commissar of the National Defense University, commemorates the legacy of the Chinese Anti-Japanese Military and Political University (Kangda), founded in 1936 under Mao Zedong’s leadership. It details Kangda's core principles—loyalty to the Party, combat-oriented training, pragmatism, perseverance, and strict discipline—which produced over 100,000 cadres for the war effort. The author calls for inheriting Kangda’s spirit by applying Xi Jinping's military thought, strengthening political loyalty, and reforming military education to meet contemporary challenges. The article does not discuss the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: The article traces the history of China's South-to-North Water Diversion Project, which Xi Jinping has called on par with the Three Gorges Project. It begins with Mao Zedong's 1952 proposal to "borrow water" from the south, as he asked Lin Yishan about diverting water from the Yangtze to the north. The project's planning involved successive leaders, including Zhou Enlai, and after decades of study, the central route began operation in 2014, delivering over 880 billion cubic meters of water by 2026. The article emphasizes the project as a demonstration of the CCP's people-centered governance and the advantages of socialist centralized decision-making.
Summary: At a January 2020 summary conference on the "Don't Forget the Original Intention, Remember the Mission" campaign, Xi Jinping warned against systemic enforcement failures, urging the Party to halt selective application and prevent hard constraints from turning into "rubber bands." He pinpointed lax, loose, and soft institutional implementation as a deep-seated threat to the Party's authority, advocating for rigorous oversight and accountability. The article analyzes how such elasticity fosters a "broken windows" effect, where unpunished minor violations normalize broader circumvention of rules. It attributes the problem to both subjective factors—like weak institutional awareness and privilege-seeking—and objective flaws, such as imprecise or impractical institutional design. To remedy this, Xi and the article call for a comprehensive approach involving ideological training, tighter institutional frameworks, uniform enforcement, and strict accountability, with leading cadres bearing primary responsibility.
Summary: On February 5, 2026, Xi Jinping issued an important instruction on launching a Party-wide study and education campaign to establish and practice a correct view of performance, which is included in Volume II of *Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Party Building*. Xi explained the campaign is necessary due to persistent problems in performance views, the upcoming "15th Five-Year Plan" and local leadership transitions, and the need to fulfill the Party's historical mission of serving the people and pursuing high-quality development. The campaign sets a general requirement of "serving the public, benefiting the people, making scientific decisions, and working in a down-to-earth manner," focusing on study, investigation, and rectification. Xi emphasized raising ideological awareness by learning from both positive and negative examples, solving problems precisely, and strengthening institutions and rules to constrain power. No mention is made of U.S.-China relations or accompanying officials.
Summary: In a speech at the 105th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi Jinping reviewed the Party’s achievements and issued “five musts” for its members. The article underscores Xi’s view that party construction is a “magic weapon” for the nation’s rise, tracing its evolution from the Yan’an period to the new era. It calls on the People’s Courts to implement Xi Jinping’s thought on party building, particularly through absolute Party leadership and stricter self-governance. The text highlights the need to integrate political and judicial work, ensuring courts serve the Party’s central tasks and the Chinese-style modernization. No mention is made of the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: The article reports that rising incomes and education levels in China have driven a shift in tourism demand from quantity to quality, with 2025 domestic trips up 16.7% year-on-year and average per capita travel reaching 4.6 trips. Improved transportation and accommodation, such as high-speed rail and innovative hotels, have expanded travel options, while policy now prioritizes quality, governance, and emotional value over mere scale. President Xi Jinping is quoted as stating that tourism has become a "strategic pillar industry" and a "livelihood and happiness industry," emphasizing the need to meet people's spiritual and cultural needs. The article, authored by the president of the China Tourism Academy, calls for transforming development concepts from destination-centric to source-market thinking, promoting integrated, intelligent, and green tourism, and shifting evaluation criteria to focus on visitor satisfaction and sustainability. No mention is made of the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: The article examines the Temple of Heaven (Tiantan) as a physical embodiment of traditional Chinese cosmology, statecraft, and agricultural governance, noting its design reflects “round heaven, square earth” principles and numerical systems tied to the calendar. It quotes President Xi Jinping’s statement at a cultural symposium that “only by comprehensively and deeply understanding the history of Chinese civilization can we effectively promote the creative transformation and innovative development of excellent traditional Chinese culture.” The text details how the temple’s architecture encodes concepts of yin-yang, the calendar, and the “revere heaven and protect the people” governance philosophy, with rituals centered on praying for harvests. It concludes that the site has transformed from an imperial altar into a modern symbol for cultural heritage transmission, international exchange, and national identity. No U.S. or bilateral relations are mentioned.
Summary: The article examines China's booming study tour (游学) market for students, emphasizing its educational potential but criticizing its drift toward commercialization and vanity. It notes that some programs prioritize sightseeing and shopping over genuine learning, while others circumvent "double reduction" policies by disguising tutoring as研学. The piece calls for systemic regulation, including clearer industry standards, cross-departmental oversight, and a return to educational principles. It urges schools to design curricula-based tours and warns parents against competitive, costly trips that lack substantive value. Ultimately, the article argues that study tours must be re-centered on holistic development rather than profit or status.
Summary: Qu Qiubai, accompanied by Yu Songhua and Li Zongwu, departed Beijing for Soviet Russia on October 16, 1920, as a special correspondent for the *Morning Post* and *The China Times*. He reported on the first socialist state, attending the Third Congress of the Communist International and witnessing Lenin speak. He authored over 50 dispatches, including *A Journey to the Hungry Land* and *A Heart-History of the Red Capital*, introducing Marxism-Leninism to China. In May 1921, he joined the Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik) and later formally joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1922. The article highlights his mission to find a new path for China’s salvation, with no reference to the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: Martin Jacques, a British scholar and CCP expert, argues that the Communist Party of China (CPC) is the most successful party in modern history, attributing this to its people-centered governance and capacity for self-reform. He emphasizes that the CPC continuously adapts and innovates, unlike Western parties, and rejects "Western-centrism" in analyzing China. Jacques notes that the CPC’s global vision, embodied in the Belt and Road Initiative and the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind, offers alternative models for global governance. He has repeatedly stated that his positive assessments are based on firsthand observations and interactions with Chinese officials and scholars during years of field research. No mention is made of the United States or U.S.-China relations in the article.
Summary: Lin Zexu, a famed Chinese official and anti-opium hero, was ordered during his 1841 exile to assist in emergency flood control at the Yellow River’s Kaifeng breach, accompanying imperial commissioner Wang Ding. Despite illness, he directed round-the-clock relief efforts, employed strategic dike construction, and successfully closed the breach after five months. Wang Ding petitioned for Lin’s pardon, but the Daoguang Emperor insisted on sending him onward to Xinjiang. Lin Zexu’s famous line, “I will serve my country regardless of personal gain or loss,” reflects his resilience. The article makes no mention of the United States or U.S.-China relations.
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Summary: Cai Qi, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee and head of the Central Party School, addressed a national conference of party school presidents in Beijing, stressing the need to thoroughly study Xi Jinping’s thought and uphold the "two establishments" and "two upholds." He called for strengthening the party’s leadership over party schools, improving cadre training and ideological education, and enhancing research on Xi Jinping’s theories. Cai also emphasized the importance of strict governance, discipline, and fostering a culture of learning within party schools to support Chinese-style modernization.
Summary: The article reports on the 17th Forum on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics and the 8th National Conference on Teaching, Research, and Think Tank Work for Party School Marxism Schools, held in Nanjing on July 21. Jiangsu Party School Executive Vice President Yang Ming and Central Party School Marxism School Vice Dean Li Haiqing delivered opening remarks, with Central Party School Marxism School Deputy Party Secretary Xue Weijiang chairing. Yang emphasized advancing the systematic and theoretical study of the Party’s innovative theories from academic, practical, international, and historical perspectives. Li stated that Chinese modernization has raised clear problem orientations for the development of Chinese philosophy and social sciences. The forum focused on building an independent knowledge system for Chinese philosophy and social sciences under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought.
Summary: On March 23, 2026, Guangdong Provincial Party Secretary Huang Kunming, also serving as head of the provincial Party School, delivered a keynote speech at the school's spring semester opening ceremony, emphasizing the need to deeply study Xi Jinping's thought on building a correct view of political achievements. He called for adhering to the principles of "serving the public, benefiting the people, making scientific decisions, and working solidly." The school has integrated this education into its core curriculum, including special courses, study trips to other provinces, and strict management of trainees. No mention was made of the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: A national conference on socialist democratic rule of law was held July 18-19 in Nyingchi, Tibet, co-organized by the Central Party School and local party school systems, with over 140 experts attending. Discussions focused on Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, whole-process people's democracy, and how democratic legal construction can empower Chinese-style modernization. Speakers addressed topics including political science, law, and disciplinary inspection, emphasizing the integration of theory with practical governance challenges. Attendees affirmed that the conference deepened understanding of Xi’s core principles on rule of law and clarified the theoretical and practical paths for whole-process people’s democracy. The participants reiterated the Party school system’s mission to “cultivate talent for the Party and offer advice for the Party” in advancing democratic rule of law.
Summary: The article argues that building a high-quality cadre force is essential for realizing Chinese-style modernization, emphasizing the need to systematically enhance officials' capabilities in three areas: political competence, ability to drive high-quality development, and digital literacy. It stresses that political capacity must be grounded in thorough theoretical study and practical tempering in demanding posts, with institutional mechanisms to evaluate and adjust performance. For development, officials must update skills in areas like AI and finance, strengthen risk management, and master public opinion guidance. The piece also calls for a shift from experience-based to data-driven governance, with immersive training and real-world simulations to improve digital application. The author is the executive vice president of the Chongqing Party School (Administrative College).
Summary: Shaanxi Provincial Party School held a meeting on July 15 to advance the integration of Xi Jinping's thought on party building into textbooks, classrooms, and minds. Executive Vice President Fan Yongbin delivered a speech, while Vice President Zhang Shoukui presided. The meeting emphasized the political responsibility to embed this thought throughout cadre education, requiring a thorough grasp of the "Fourteen Persistences." It called for leveraging Shaanxi's red resources and Yan'an spirit to create distinctive teaching brands. The school aims to lead in implementing Xi's thought, improving course systems, and promoting high-quality teaching across the province.
Summary: The article reports that Zhejiang Provincial Party School has implemented research-based teaching in its core training programs, as required by the Communist Party's regulations for party schools. It emphasizes a shift from traditional lecture-style instruction to a problem-oriented, inquiry-based approach, with systematic curriculum design that integrates theory, practice, and policy transformation. The school employs a closed-loop management model connecting teaching, research, and policy advising, guiding students through structured processes from topic selection to report application. Collaborative support among students, faculty, and administration ensures that research projects align with central and provincial work priorities. The goal is to enhance cadres' ability to modernize governance through practical, research-driven learning.
Summary: The article, authored by the executive vice president of Chongqing Party School, argues that building a high-quality cadre corps is essential for advancing Chinese-style modernization. It emphasizes the need to systematically enhance cadres' political capabilities through theoretical study and practical tempering, while also addressing deficiencies in professional skills for high-quality development. The author calls for upgrading digital competency, including data-driven thinking and practical training, to meet the demands of modern governance. No mention is made of the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: The article reports that Qingdao Party School has enhanced on-site teaching for cadre training by aligning with Xi Jinping's directives and local development tasks, developing 10 teaching lines and 76 sites. It emphasizes systematic resource integration across municipal and county levels, with 27 sites added to provincial directories. Standardized procedures and a closed-loop teaching mechanism were established. Innovative methods include AI-powered实训 platforms and a dual-teacher model combining theoretical instruction with practical expertise. Faculty development focuses on tiered training and building a diverse instructor pool. No mention of the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: Xining Municipal Party School has adopted a "five-coordination" integrated development framework to address persistent imbalances in resource allocation, curriculum, faculty, and infrastructure among county-level Party schools. The approach includes unified organizational leadership with a “1+7+N” system linking the municipal school, seven county schools, and teaching bases. Resource sharing is enhanced through pooled teaching databases and a video training platform, while teaching and research are coordinated via joint curriculum development and cross-county research teams. Faculty development is supported through shared expert pools and a mentoring program, and performance is evaluated through standardized assessments integrated into county-level Party building targets. The article, authored by a vice president of Xining Municipal Party School, details these systemic reforms without reference to the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: The article reports that Hangzhou Municipal Party School, under new regulations, has developed local characteristic courses to enhance cadre training, focusing on tracing Xi Jinping Thought’s origins in Zhejiang, serving central work priorities, and improving cadre capabilities. It employs innovative “dual teacher” and “dual course” teaching models, combining theoretical analysis with practical experience from officials and students. The school integrates internal research and external departmental coordination, with organizational departments overseeing political standards and quality control. It also coordinates city-county party school resources to build a unified course development system. The author is the vice president of Hangzhou Municipal Party School.
Summary: The article reports on Nantong City's implementation of the Party School Work Regulations, emphasizing its role as the main channel for cadre and party member education. Under a "party committee responsibility, branch focus, member participation" mechanism, Nantong has launched a "10,000 Party Members Enter Party School" campaign, utilizing a multi-level training matrix from municipal to township levels. It features precise curriculum design centered on Xi Jinping Thought, flexible training modes such as evening and weekend classes, and a quality assurance system with satisfaction evaluations. The program aims to extend party education to grassroots levels and convert theoretical learning into practical applications for economic and social development. The article is authored by the vice principal of Nantong Municipal Party School.
Summary: President Xi Jinping emphasized the need for precise alignment between training supply and demand to meet organizational, job, and individual cadre requirements, enhancing systemic, targeted, and effective education. The article reports that Feicheng Municipal Party School in Shandong operationalizes this by anchoring training in organizational needs—prioritizing theoretical and party spirit education—and by focusing on job-specific skills through demand diagnosis and practical, scenario-based teaching. To address individual cadre needs, the school offers elective courses, peer learning platforms, and joint research, leveraging online resources from Shandong Provincial Party School and Tsinghua University.
Summary: President Xi Jinping emphasized that leading cadres must strengthen their knowledge of cutting-edge technology to better drive innovation, as reported in an article from the Beijing Party School. The article outlines a comprehensive training system to enhance cadres' scientific literacy, focusing on tailored content, interactive methods, and long-term mechanisms. It stresses integrating technology training into cadre education, using case studies, field visits, and digital tools to improve practical skills. The goal is to equip cadres with the ability to apply technology in governance, industrial transformation, and risk management. No mention is made of the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: The article recounts how Li Zhuang, a small town in Sichuan, became a vital refuge for Chinese cultural and academic institutions during the Second Sino-Japanese War, hosting over 12,000 scholars and students from institutions like Tongji University and the Academia Sinica. Despite harsh conditions, these scholars conducted groundbreaking research, including Liang Sicheng's completion of *History of Chinese Architecture* and Dong Zuobin's *Yin Li Pu* on Shang dynasty calendars. Local residents provided housing, food, and protection, even risking their lives to safeguard rare books and artifacts from Japanese bombing. After the war, the departing scholars erected a stone tablet in gratitude, symbolizing the enduring bond between the intellectuals and the town. The story highlights how grassroots solidarity preserved China's cultural heritage during a time of national crisis.
Summary: The article explores water as a central motif in the *Book of Songs* (诗经), analyzing how rivers and streams embody love, longing, fate, nostalgia, and national ambition in classical Chinese poetry. It highlights famous verses such as “Guan Guan Ju Jiu” and “Jian Jia” to illustrate water as both a romantic setting and a symbol of unattainable desire. The piece further examines water’s role as a metaphor for life’s transience, as seen in homesick odes like “He Guang,” and as a source of heroic vigor in martial poems like “Jiang Han.” It concludes that water serves as a foundational “meta-language” for Chinese emotional expression, encompassing personal yearning and collective destiny. No U.S. or U.S.-China relations are referenced.
Summary: The article describes the architectural heritage of Huizhou (formerly Shezhou, now southern Anhui), highlighting its distinctive "white walls, black tiles, and horse-head walls." It notes that ancient villages integrate Confucian and merchant culture through structures like ancestral halls, memorial archways, and academies. The "three wonders of Huizhou"—residences, ancestral halls, and archways—are detailed, with the horse-head wall serving both fire prevention and aesthetic functions. The "four carvings" (wood, stone, brick, bamboo) are praised as masterpieces of Ming-Qing folk sculpture. The piece emphasizes that Huizhou architecture reflects the region's human-nature harmony and cultural identity, without reference to any officials or U.S.-China relations.
By: 最高人民法院党组书记、院长 张军
General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the celebration of the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, comprehensively reviewing and summarizing the glorious journey traveled and the great achievements created by the Chinese Communist Party uniting and leading the Chinese people of all ethnic groups over the past 105 years, profoundly revealing the excellent traits that have enabled our Party to continuously forge brilliance, putting forward clear requirements of "five musts" for all Chinese Communist Party members on the new journey to strengthen confidence and continue the struggle, and issuing a great call to the entire Party and the people of all ethnic groups across the country to strive to create new historical glories. The people's courts must earnestly study and implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech spirit at the celebration of the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China and Xi Jinping's thought on Party building, deeply comprehend the decisive significance of the Two Establishments (两个确立), resolutely achieve the Two Upholds (两个维护), consciously use Xi Jinping's thought on Party building to plan and advance the Party building of the people's courts, closely focus on the central tasks of the Party in the new era and new journey to perform duties according to law, lead and promote the high-quality development of trial work in the new era with high-quality Party building, and provide strong judicial services and guarantees for comprehensively advancing the construction of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation.
Profoundly understand that Party building is a key magic weapon for building the Party and the country, and for revitalizing the Party and strengthening the country
General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out, "Advancing the construction of the Party as a great project, and always adhering to the principles and policies of the Party governing the Party and exercising strict self-governance, is a great innovation of our Party, and also a key magic weapon for building the Party and the country, and for revitalizing the Party and strengthening the country." The history of our Party since its founding 105 years ago is a history of struggle in continuously strengthening its own construction and persisting in advancing self-reform.
During the period of the New Democratic Revolution, the key to Party building was how to survive in a perilous environment and lead the revolution. At the beginning of the Party's founding, the first Party Constitution initially established organizational rules, made specific provisions on Party discipline, and had great significance in the history of Party building. After the failure of the Autumn Harvest Uprising, the troops suffered heavy losses and urgently needed rectification. After the Sanwan Reorganization (三湾改编), it was clearly stipulated to "establish Party branches on company levels," ensuring the Party's absolute leadership over the military politically and organizationally. During the Yan'an period, our Party placed Party building at a strategic height concerning the victory of the Chinese revolution. In 1939, Mao Zedong proposed the "great project" of Party building. In response to problems such as subjectivism, sectarianism, and Party stereotypes (党八股 - "Party's eight-legged essay," stereotyped writing), our Party carried out the Yan'an Rectification Movement, achieving new unity and unity of the entire Party. The Seventh National Congress established Mao Zedong Thought as the guiding ideology of the Party, formulated the Party's political line, enabling the entire Party to achieve unprecedented unity and unity ideologically, politically, and organizationally. Our Party also paid special attention to strengthening discipline construction, emphasizing that the line is the "kingly way" (王道 - benevolent governance) and discipline is the "despotic way" (霸道 - coercive rule). Ultimately, "Yan'an style" defeated "Xi'an style," achieving victory in the New Democratic Revolution.
During the period of Socialist Revolution and Construction, the focus of Party building shifted to adapting to the new requirements of ruling the whole country. As early as when the Liberation War was about to achieve comprehensive victory and the Party was about to take over the national political power, Mao Zedong, with great foresight, proposed the "Two Musts" (两个务必) to alert the entire Party. In the early days of the founding of New China, in response to the existing sentiments of arrogance and complacency, indulgence in pleasure, and the styles of bureaucracy and commandism, the Party successively launched rectification campaigns, Party rectification movements, and the "Three Antis" (三反) movement within the whole Party, proposing to rectify "extremely serious phenomena that undermine the prestige of the Party and the people's government, cause discontent among the people, and even include corruption and degeneration, political depravity and decadence, lawbreaking and disciplinary violation," ensuring the smooth implementation of the Party's line, principles, and policies, and effectively consolidating the nascent political power.
During the new period of Reform and Opening up and Socialist Modernization, Party building entered a stage of institutional improvement and theoretical innovation. The Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee re-established the ideological line of emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts, achieving a great turning point of far-reaching significance in the Party's history since the founding of New China. Against the historical backdrop of deepening reform and opening up, Deng Xiaoping proposed to build the Party into a strong core leading the entire people in the construction of socialist material civilization and spiritual civilization. The Fourth Plenary Session of the Fourteenth Central Committee proposed the "new great project" of Party building, further answering the epochal question of what kind of Party to build and how to build the Party.
In the new era of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, Party building focuses on improving the Party's leadership level and long-term governance capacity, leading China's governance with the governance of the Chinese Communist Party. Entering the new era, we are closer to, more confident in, and more capable than any period in history of achieving the goal of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, but we also face more complex and severe risks and challenges and more arduous development tasks. The Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, focusing on the major epochal questions of what kind of long-term governing Marxist party to build and how to build a long-term governing Marxist party, has put forward a series of new concepts, new ideas, and new strategies, forming Xi Jinping's thought on Party building. Consistently advancing the new great project of Party building in the new era, incorporating comprehensive and strict Party governance into the "Four Comprehensives" (四个全面) strategic layout, providing the second answer to breaking free from the historical cycle of rise and fall – self-reform – and putting forward the general requirements for Party building in the new era. Making the Party's political construction the fundamental construction of the Party, always placing it first. Making ideological construction the foundational construction of the Party, arming the entire Party with the Party's innovative theories, continuously deepening centralized education within the Party, and stabilizing the rudder of thought. Starting with the formulation and implementation of the Central Eight-Point Regulations (中央八项规定) to break the ground, continuously deepening the rectification of the "Four Winds" (四风), the Party style, government style, and social style have taken on a completely new look. Incorporating the strengthening of discipline construction into the overall layout of Party building, adhering to governing the Party with systems and regulations, carrying out an unprecedented anti-corruption struggle, promoting the deepening of comprehensive and strict Party governance, and opening up a new realm of self-reform for a century-old major party.
Xi Jinping's thought on Party building is the fundamental guideline for strengthening Party building in the new era
Xi Jinping's thought on Party building is an inheritance and development of our Party's historical experience in self-construction, a summary and distillation of the practical experience of comprehensive and strict Party governance in the new era, a major achievement in adhering to the "Two Integrations" (两个结合 – the integration of the basic tenets of Marxism with China's specific realities and with the excellent traditional Chinese culture) to advance the Party's theoretical innovation, and the fundamental guideline for strengthening Party building in the new era. The people's courts must deeply comprehend and implement it in conjunction with trial work.
Always adhere to the Party's absolute leadership over judicial work. The primary connotation of the "Fourteen Persistences" (十四个坚持) in Xi Jinping's thought on Party building is "Adhering to the Party's leadership is the most essential feature of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics," with special emphasis that adhering to the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee is the highest principle of Party leadership. Historically, whenever the entire Party firmly upheld the Party's core and the authority of the Party Central Committee, Party leadership was continuously strengthened, and the Party's cause achieved continuous victories; conversely, Party leadership would weaken, and the Party's cause would suffer setbacks. As a state judicial organ under the leadership of the Party, the people's court is first and foremost a political organ. It must always regard upholding the authority of the Party Central Committee and its centralized and unified leadership as its primary political responsibility, and consciously run it through the entire process and all aspects of Party building, team building, trial execution.
Always adhere to comprehensive and strict Party governance. "Adhering to comprehensive and strict Party governance" is the strategic policy for Party building in the new era. Whether it is "adhering to governing the entire Party with strict discipline," "adhering to simultaneously promoting the deterrence of 'dare not be corrupt,' the barrier of 'cannot be corrupt,' and the ideal of 'do not want to be corrupt'," or "adhering to governing the Party with systems and regulations" and "adhering to implementing political responsibility for managing and governing the Party," all are closely linked to and implement this strategic policy. Looking back on history, our Party has always attached great importance to its own construction, being adept at examining itself by the requirements of the times, alerting itself with a strong sense of urgency, and perfecting itself with the spirit of self-reform. The people's courts hold the judicial power entrusted by the Party and the people, and bear the important functions of punishing crimes, protecting the people, settling disputes, and upholding justice. Managing the Party and governing the courts must have higher standards and stricter requirements, strictly strengthen discipline and style construction, strictly educate, manage, and supervise, effectively ensure impartial law enforcement and uprightness with strong Party spirit, and establish judicial credibility and authority with fair and incorruptible justice.
Always adhere to serving the overall situation and administering justice for the people. "Adhering to never forgetting the original aspiration and keeping the mission firmly in mind" fully demonstrates our Party's purpose stance and value orientation. The Party and the country's cause develops to a certain stage, the new great project of Party building must advance to that stage; wherever the people's urgent concerns and anxieties lie, Party building must focus and exert efforts there. The people's character is the fundamental attribute of the people's courts. Strengthening Party building must be closely linked to the Party's nature and purpose, original aspiration and mission, adhere to the people-centered development philosophy, strive to solve the fundamental issue of for whom justice is administered, guide the vast majority of Party members and judicial officers to cultivate feelings for the people, stand firm on the people's side, and protect and enhance the people's well-being with strict and impartial justice. The main responsibility and main business of the people's courts is judicial trial. Strengthening Party building must be closely linked to the Party's central tasks to perform duties responsibly, adhere to the deep integration of Party building and professional work, and better use the rule of law to ensure and promote the effective implementation of the Party's line, principles, and policies.
Always adhere to guidance by scientific theory. A history of Party building is a history of continuously advancing the Sinicization and modernization of the Marxist theory of Party building. Xi Jinping's thought on Party building has made significant original contributions to the development of the Marxist theory of Party building, demonstrating its immense power of truth in leading and promoting the practice of strengthening the Party and the country in the new era. Strengthening the Party building of the people's courts must deeply grasp the scientific system, rich connotation, theoretical character, and practical requirements of Xi Jinping's thought on Party building, achieving an understanding of not only the "what" but also the "why," and not only the meaning but also the underlying principles, thereby realizing the power of truth and personality, enabling theoretical arming and Party spirit tempering to promote and complement each other. In particular, it must be closely combined with the laws of judicial work and the actual situation of the court team, continuously enhancing the scientific level of Party building in the people's courts.
Accurately grasp the focal points of Party building in the people's courts in the new era and new journey
Xi Jinping's thought on Party building was formed in the great practice of the new era and will inevitably demonstrate its immense power in guiding practice and promoting practice. The Party building work of the people's courts must adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping's thought on Party building, closely combine with the historical positioning and the situation and tasks faced by the people's judicial cause, and accurately identify and grasp the integration and leverage points for supporting and serving Chinese-style modernization with the modernization of trial work.
Always highlight the construction of a political organ. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized, "The Party's political construction is the fundamental construction of the Party, determining the direction and effectiveness of Party building." Strengthening the Party building of the people's courts must highlight the leading role of political construction, forever maintain the distinct political character of the judicial organ as a political organ, ensuring that the direction of judicial work is guided by the Party, the basic principles of judicial work are determined by the Party, and the decision-making and deployment of judicial work are led by the Party. Further deepen and solidify the approach of viewing matters from a political perspective and handling affairs according to the rule of law. Viewing matters from a political perspective means being adept at seeing through the surface of trial professional work to deeply grasp the political stance and political logic behind it, thereby aligning the political direction; handling affairs according to the rule of law means being adept at deeply integrating political requirements into trial work, concretely implementing political consciousness through performing duties according to law. Viewing matters from a political perspective and handling affairs according to the rule of law are organically unified. In practice, two erroneous tendencies must be resolutely opposed: one is talking about politics in abstraction, engaging in slogan politics, empty politics, creating a "two-skin" separation between politics and business; the other is failing to see the politics in cases, handling cases in isolation, and applying the law mechanically. It is necessary to be adept at grasping the political factors and impacts behind cases, striving to achieve the organic unity of the "three effects" (法律效果、政治效果、社会效果 – legal effect, political effect, social effect) in case handling through impartial justice, thereby strengthening the Party's governance foundation. Viewing matters from a political perspective and handling affairs according to the rule of law test the political ability and professional ability of the vast majority of court judicial officers. Always prioritize the enhancement of political ability, strengthen political capability training and case-handling practical experience, guide the vast majority of court judicial officers to consciously study and analyze issues from a political perspective, perform trial duties under the overall situation, correctly understand and handle major relationships such as Party policies and national laws, adhering to Party leadership and ensuring judicial organs exercise their powers independently and impartially according to law, treating diseases at the terminal end and preventing diseases at the front end, settling disputes according to law and placing greater emphasis on preventing disputes, effectively achieving the organic unity of stressing politics and stressing the rule of law, ensuring that judicial performance better serves and guarantees Chinese-style modernization.
Persistently deepen the arming with the Party's innovative theories. Persisting in using the Party's innovative theories to consolidate the soul and unite the heart is the fundamental task of the Party's ideological construction. It is necessary to deeply study and implement Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, especially Xi Jinping's thought on Party building and Xi Jinping's thought on the rule of law, as a fundamental and long-term task of Party building, truly integrating responsibilities and work, studying it deeply, believing it firmly, and practicing it earnestly. Firmly grasp the core value pursuit of "striving to make the people feel fairness and justice in every judicial case." Fairness and justice are the soul and life of justice. Always remember that the subject who feels fairness and justice is the people, not the judge themselves, deeply solidify the concept of "Ru Zai Wo Su" (如我在诉 - "as if I were in the lawsuit," empathizing with the litigant), resolve legal knots according to laws and regulations, and also resolve emotional knots with heart and feeling, firmly guarding the last line of defense for maintaining social fairness and justice. Pay more attention to protecting and promoting social fairness and justice, adhere to the unity of substantive justice, procedural justice, and perceived justice, effectively protect fairness in rights, opportunities, and rules, improve the mechanism for realizing and evaluating judicial justice, and continuously improve judicial quality, efficiency, and credibility. Strengthen confidence in the rule of law, enhance the confidence, backbone, and determination to follow the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics. Confidence in the rule of law is the concentrated embodiment of the "Four Confidences" (四个自信) in the field of rule of law, a major political issue, and also an ideological issue. Continuously deepen the research, interpretation, and publicity of the core essence, specific connotation, and unique advantages of the socialist rule of law path and judicial system with Chinese characteristics, guide the vast majority of Party members and judicial officers to base themselves on China's historical culture, national conditions, and practical requirements, deeply understand the characteristics and essence of China's socialist rule of law path and judicial system in the sharp contrast between "China's governance" and "Western chaos," firmly grasp the dominant power and discourse power in the ideological field of the judiciary. Adhere to the "soul vein" (魂脉) of Marxist rule of law theory, inherit the "root vein" (根脉) of China's excellent traditional legal culture, continuously research and solve the epochal issues and practical problems of building a rule of law China, construct a judicial discourse system with Chinese characteristics that integrates China and foreign countries, tell the story of China's rule of law and judiciary in the new era, and highlight China's image as a major country in rule of law and civilization.
Comprehensively implement the Party's organizational line in the new era. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized, "The Party's strength comes from its organization. The Party's overall leadership and all work rely on the Party's strong organizational system to be realized." Courts at all levels must implement the Party's organizational line in the new era, continuously enhance the effectiveness of the Party's organizational construction, promote the Party organization to be more effectively leading on the basis of tangible coverage, and provide a strong organizational guarantee for promoting the high-quality development of trial work. Strive to strengthen the construction of Party groups in courts at all levels. The Party groups of courts at all levels must conscientiously implement the Regulations of the Chinese Communist Party on Political and Legal Work (中国共产党政法工作条例) and the Regulations of the Chinese Communist Party on the Work of Party Groups (中国共产党党组工作条例), effectively fulfill political leadership responsibilities, strive to improve political ability, decision-making ability, and management ability, effectively implement the major decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the work requirements of higher courts in combination with the actual work of the court, and better play the important role of setting the direction, managing the overall situation, and ensuring implementation. The Party group leadership, especially the Party group secretary, must establish and practice a correct view of performance, pay attention to coordinating and grasping the responsibility to superiors and responsibility to subordinates, seeking development and laying the foundation, producing visible achievements and valuing potential achievements, making decisions and promoting implementation, shaping the atmosphere, leading the team, and promoting practical work with the exemplary role of loyalty, integrity, and responsibility. Strive to enhance the political function and organizational function of grassroots Party organizations. The establishment of Party branches and the division of Party groups are generally consistent with the organizational setup and division of responsibilities, having unique advantages in managing people individually and managing them regularly. Strictly implement the systems such as the "Three Meetings and One Lesson" (三会一课 – general membership meetings, committee meetings, group meetings, and Party lessons) and organizational life meetings, closely combine the transmission and implementation of the Party's line, principles, policies, and resolutions and instructions of higher Party organizations with the work responsibilities, specific business, and personnel ideology of the branch and group, focusing on enhancing Party consciousness and organizational concept, and focusing on the mutual integration and promotion of Party building and professional construction, so that every Party member works, lives, and undertakes work under organizational guidance and institutional constraints. Grassroots Party organizations are numerous, with significant differences in type and covering courts at four levels. Their construction and development must focus on comprehensive coordination and conformity with actual conditions, implement the work requirements of "increasing advanced branches, improving intermediate branches, and rectifying backward branches," and promote the comprehensive progress and comprehensive excellence of grassroots Party organizations. Strive to forge a loyal, clean, responsible, and high-quality court team. Under the new situation, court team building faces many new situations and new problems in the process of reform and development. It is necessary to continuously guide and enhance the consciousness and determination to deepen the implementation of judicial system reforms. Actively and effectively integrate ideological and political work with promoting the solution of reform difficulties and solving the growth and development puzzles of judicial officers, guide the vast majority of Party members and judicial officers to correctly view the relationship between personal interests and the trial cause, temporary gains and losses and long-term development, and effectively perform their duties with high morale and radiate their heat and light. Further strengthen the role of performance assessment as a baton, weather vane, and booster, and implement full-staff, precise, and differentiated assessment. Adhere to the principle of putting the cause first and fairness and justice, coordinate politics and business, burden reduction and efficiency increase, assessing people and assessing affairs, scientifically evaluate and dynamically adjust the assessment indicator system, deepen the application of assessment results, and motivate and guarantee that the vast majority of Party members and judicial officers take concrete actions and assume responsibility in promoting the high-quality development of trial work and serving Chinese-style modernization.
Persistently strengthen the rectification of work style and discipline. General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out, "Political and legal organs are departments that ordinary people deal with more frequently and are a mirror for the masses to see the Party's style and government style," elucidating the special importance of strengthening discipline and style construction in the people's courts. Adhere to higher standards and stricter requirements. The people's courts across the country handle tens of millions of cases each year, all of which concern the vital interests of the parties involved, the people's trust in the Party, and their perception of the socialist rule of law. Discipline and style are powerful guarantees for achieving fairness and justice. The discipline and style construction of the people's courts must always adhere to putting strictness first, being strict in all aspects, and being strict to the end. For matters conducive to maintaining judicial fairness, credibility, and authority, take the initiative and act positively; for matters detrimental to judicial fairness, credibility, and authority, strictly adhere to the red line and never touch it. Focus on regulating the operation of judicial power. The people's court is the state judicial organ. For comprehensive and strict Party governance and court management, regulating the operation of judicial power must be the top priority, focusing on strictly implementing the institutional provisions for supervising and restricting the operation of trial power, ensuring standard case handling and strict personnel management. Continuously implement the "Three Provisions" (三个规定 – provisions on preventing interference in judicial affairs) on preventing interference in judicial affairs. Pay attention to promoting institutional implementation through technological embedding, use scientific and technological means to strengthen daily supervision and penetrating supervision, and minimize the occurrence of disciplinary and legal violations. Managing people focuses on the "key minority." Leading cadres must be strict with themselves, strictly fulfill their responsibilities, strictly manage their subordinates, take the lead in establishing and practicing a correct view of performance, take the lead in implementing and enforcing institutional regulations, set an example with their own integrity and capability; at the same time, bear the main responsibility, supervisory responsibility, and "One Post with Two Responsibilities" (一岗双责 – responsibility for both professional work and Party building/discipline), unify strict supervision and management with encouraging responsibility and action, lead the vast majority of judicial officers to complete the missions and tasks entrusted by the Party and the people.
Continuously promote the high-quality development of Party building in the people's courts
Xi Jinping's thought on Party building is profound, rich in connotation, deep in thought, and rigorous in system. The people's courts must fully utilize the scientific methods contained therein to promote innovation in Party building, combine the general laws of Party building with the specific characteristics of court Party building, pay more attention to scientization, institutionalization, and standardization, and comprehensively improve the quality of Party building in the people's courts.
Consolidate the main responsibility of Party groups in courts at all levels for Party building. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized, "The responsibility for managing and governing the Party is the most fundamental political responsibility." Party groups of courts at all levels must resolutely shoulder the main responsibility for Party building. Improve the institutional mechanism for Party groups of courts at all levels to grasp Party building under the guidance of Xi Jinping's thought on Party building, refine and improve the list of key matters for Party groups to study the Party building work of the court, strengthen the coordination of Party building forces within the court, and form a joint work force. The Party group secretary must conscientiously fulfill the responsibilities of the first responsible person, personally deploy, personally inquire, personally coordinate, and personally supervise Party building work, take the lead in grasping and strengthening Party building. Members of the Party group leadership must strictly implement the "One Post with Two Responsibilities" (一岗双责), and grasp the Party building work in their respective fields. Improve the assessment and evaluation mechanism for Party building work, promote the real implementation of responsibilities with the "hard constraint" of assessment, and promote the implementation of the tasks of managing the Party and governing the court with the fulfillment of responsibilities.
Integrate and promote Party building and professional construction as a whole. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized, "Handle the relationship between Party building and professional work. The key to solving the 'two skins' problem is to find the integration point and promote the mutual promotion of court Party building and professional work." Firmly establish the integration concept. Strengthening Party building work is to improve the quality and efficiency of trial execution and better serve the central tasks of the Party and the state. The fundamental purpose is to protect people's livelihood and well-being and consolidate the long-term governance foundation of the Party. Strengthening the integration concept means adhering to grasping Party building around the center, grasping Party building to promote business, taking whether the Party Central Committee's decisions and deployments are implemented, whether the functions of the Party organization are enhanced, whether the quality of Party members and cadres is improved, and whether the people are satisfied as the fundamental criteria for measuring the effectiveness of court Party building, achieving the identification of problems through Party building, the investigation of causes through Party building, and the resolution of problems through Party building. Improve the integration mechanism. Adhere to the simultaneous planning, simultaneous deployment, simultaneous promotion, and simultaneous assessment of Party building work and professional work. Party organizations of courts at all levels must refine and improve specific integration mechanisms. The "First Agenda" (第一议题) system of the Party group is an important system for promoting the integration of Party building and professional work. The key lies in whether the implementation is solid and the integration is deep. All units and departments commonly operate work meeting systems and case discussion mechanisms. Only by being adept at setting the direction, discovering problems, analyzing root causes, and researching countermeasures from the perspective of Party building can they keep up with and adapt to the task requirements under complex and severe situations. Enhance integration capability. To achieve the integration of Party building and professional work, one must be familiar with Party building work and proficient in their own business. Fully leverage the functional role of the court's political department as the Party building guidance department for the business line, and the institutional Party committee as the specialized department for court Party building, select and strengthen full-time Party affairs cadres, regularly conduct joint training and integrated training on Party building and professional work, and effectively enhance the capability and quality for guiding and grasping Party building. Strengthen Party affairs training for secretaries of grassroots Party branches, leaders of Party groups, and Party member judges, guide them to strengthen the awareness that Party member identity is the first identity and intra-Party positions are the first responsibility, promote the improvement of Party building work ability, and achieve the simultaneous grasp of Party building and professional work, ensuring both are strong and mutually reinforcing.
Continuously innovate methods of Party building work. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that Party building work "must strengthen classified guidance, adopt scientific and precise measures, achieve 'one key opens one lock,' and not engage in 'one-size-fits-all'." Strengthening Party building in the people's courts must adapt to the development of the times, task requirements, and the actual situation of the team, enhancing pertinence and effectiveness. Adapt to the requirements of the digital age. The internet brings new challenges to strengthening Party building guidance and ideological guidance. How to resist the ideological impact on Party members and judicial officers caused by "information cocoons," negative online information, especially the cognitive warfare waged by hostile forces using the internet, is a major and realistic Party building issue that must be deeply studied and actively addressed. At the same time, digital technology is an important support for comprehensively improving Party building concepts, models, and effectiveness. Party groups and Party building work departments of courts at all levels must strengthen digital literacy, enhance the ability and level of using digital technology to carry out Party building work, and promote the transformation of Party building work from generalization and extensive style to targeted and precise style. Adapt to the requirements of trial execution tasks. Establishing Party branches in courts and Party groups in trial teams is an important organizational form for Party building in the people's courts. It is necessary to fully utilize the organizational role, integrate Party building work into case collegial panels, judge meetings, and trial management, ensuring the organic unity of the "three effects" in case handling. Further enrich Party building carriers in window units, optimize litigation services and improve trial quality and efficiency by setting up Party member pioneer posts and demonstration windows. Continuously strengthen Party building work in people's tribunals, explore relatively flexible organizational construction mechanisms in conjunction with actual work, and effectively use Party building guidance to settle disputes, maintain fairness and justice, serve urban and rural development, and ensure social peace and order. Based on trial functions, explore and implement pragmatic and efficient joint construction, co-building, and open Party building models, enhancing the effectiveness of Party building in guiding and coordinating the handling of cases according to law and promoting grassroots governance. Adapt to the actual situation of the people's court team. The court team generally exhibits the characteristics of a high proportion of Party members, high education levels, younger age, and diverse categories. It is necessary to strengthen precise guidance based on actual conditions. For young Party member judicial officers, pay more attention to guiding them to fasten the "first button of life" (第一粒扣子), continuously strengthen ideal and belief education, Party spirit cultivation, and practical ability development, ensuring that the red gene of the judiciary is passed down from generation to generation. For Party member judicial officers with high education but relatively simple experience, strengthen political training, grassroots exercise, and mass work experience, assign them to grassroots tribunals, petition windows, and major case frontlines to undergo Party spirit tempering and enhance comprehensive capabilities. For employed Party member judicial officers, strengthen organizational care, strict organizational management, guide them to enhance their sense of belonging, responsibility, and honor, and play a greater role in their respective positions.
Party building is the fundamental guarantee for the construction and development of the people's courts. The people's courts must adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, deeply implement Xi Jinping's thought on Party building and Xi Jinping's thought on the rule of law, carry forward the great spirit of Party building, practice the original aspiration and mission, establish and practice a correct view of performance, comprehensively strengthen the Party building of the people's courts, persistently promote comprehensive and strict Party governance and court management, lead and promote the high-quality development of trial work in the new era with high-quality Party building, and make new and greater contributions to promoting Chinese-style modernization.
Return to TopBy: 张太原
Since the launch of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has published a series of important discourses on the study of Party history, explicitly stating that “a correct view of Party history must be established.” This has provided the fundamental guiding principle for the study of Party history in the new era. The proposal of the correct view of Party history is an innovative development of Marxist historiography and holds significant guiding significance for constructing an independent knowledge system of the history of the Chinese Communist Party. Since the beginning of the new era, the study of the history of the Chinese Communist Party has seen notable advances in theoretical deepening, responses to reality, and expansion of scope. Under the guidance of the correct view of Party history, a number of representative academic achievements have emerged in the scholarly community, and the breadth and depth of Party history research have made considerable progress.
The Proposal of the Correct View of Party History
The formation of the correct view of Party history (正确党史观) has its profound historical background and practical orientation. From the perspective of intellectual origins, the 2010 National Conference on Party History Work clearly stated, “We must adhere to the study and propaganda of the Party’s history based on seeking truth from facts, firmly grasp the theme and main line, the mainstream and essence of the Party’s historical development, and clearly and unequivocally reveal and propagandize the historical inevitability of the formation of the Chinese Communist Party’s leadership position and core role in China.” This important discourse explicitly laid out the fundamental stance and value orientation of Party history research, laying the foundation for the formation of the correct view of Party history. In 2013, the seventh collective study session of the 18th Political Bureau of the Central Committee elevated the study of Party history and national history to the level of a “compulsory course,” emphasizing that “history is the best textbook.” In 2021, at the mobilization conference for the study and education of Party history, the correct view of Party history moved from scattered discussions to systematic construction, pointing out that “if the view of history is wrong, not only will the goal of study and education not be achieved, but it will actually 南辕北辙 (nán yuán běi zhé - “south chariot, north track,” going opposite to the intended direction) and lead into a mistaken path.” The proposal of this important proposition has a clear problem orientation.
The spread of historical nihilist thought. Since the reform and opening up, while Party history research has moved toward academicization, some studies, under the guise of “re-evaluation,” “restoring truth,” and “academic freedom,” have distorted the history of modern Chinese revolution, denied the Party’s leadership and the socialist system, and customarily used the methods of 断章取义 (duàn zhāng qǔ yì - “cut off a passage, extract the meaning,” quoting out of context) and 以偏概全 (yǐ piān gài quán - “use the partial to cover the whole,” overgeneralizing) to distort history. The crux of historical nihilism lies in fundamentally denying the guiding position of Marxism and the historical inevitability of China’s path toward socialism. Some people attempt to sever the two historical periods before and after the reform and opening up. In response, General Secretary Xi Jinping explicitly pointed out that the two historical periods are “essentially practical explorations by our Party leading the people in socialist construction,” and that one cannot use the latter to negate the former, nor use the former to negate the latter. In response to certain erroneous tendencies, the correct view of Party history also emphasizes that “the evaluation of historical figures should be analyzed by placing them in the historical conditions of their own era and society, and cannot depart from a comprehensive understanding of historical conditions and processes, nor from a scientific grasp of historical laws, nor can it ignore the relationship between historical inevitability and historical contingency.”
The fragmenting tendency within serious academic fields. The history of the Chinese Communist Party is extremely rich in content, with successive events, a vast variety of figures, and a tortuous and fluctuating process. If an overall perspective is lacking, it is very easy to fall into the trap of fragmented interpretation, one-sided judgment, and superficial explanation, making it difficult to touch the essence and core of history. Some scholars abandon grand historical narratives and are keen on micro-narratives, leading to an inability to extricate themselves from case studies, and the detailed research of various branches and regions is continuously strengthened. The Chinese modern and contemporary historiography community has once had heated discussions on the issue of fragmentation. The spread of fragmentation has caused some works to 只见树木，不见森林 (zhǐ jiàn shù mù, bù jiàn sēn lín - “see only the trees, not the forest”), making it difficult to answer the fundamental question of how the Party was able to go from weak to strong, from setbacks to victory. Simply immersing oneself in cases while neglecting overall judgment is exactly like the ancients’ saying: “The eyesight is sharp enough to detect the tip of an autumn hair, but cannot see a cartload of firewood.” (明足以察秋毫之末，而不见舆薪)
It is precisely against this background that the proposal of the correct view of Party history has a clear targeted nature. Toward historical nihilism, it requires clearing away the fog with a scientific attitude; toward fragmented research, it requires grasping the main line with an overall perspective. When studying the history of the Chinese Communist Party, one must adhere to the three historical resolutions of the Party as the basis, while specific historical facts and details can be the subject of in-depth study. It is precisely within this “bounded freedom” that Party history research can continue to deepen in the correct direction.
The Connotation and Essential Meaning of the Correct View of Party History
The correct view of Party history is not an isolated concept, but a theoretical system that complements and organically unifies with the grand historical view (大历史观). Its main connotation can be grasped from four dimensions.
First is the perspective of the grand historical view. The so-called grand historical view means examining historical events within a long time span, a broad field, and a large background, exploring laws and grasping general trends from the long river of history. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasizes, “Analyze the mechanisms of evolution and explore historical laws from the long river of history, the great tide of the times, and the global situation.” The key to the grand historical view is not only to broaden the observation horizon of the study of the history of the Chinese Communist Party, but also to place the history of the Chinese Communist Party into the interconnected historical process of China and the world for overall grasping, requiring researchers to examine the history of the Chinese Communist Party within the grand time and space of the history of Chinese civilization, the history of national rejuvenation, and the history of world socialism. The correct view of Party history is the concrete unfolding of the grand historical view in the field of the study of the history of the Chinese Communist Party.
Second is the fundamental method of seeking truth from facts. Seeking truth from facts is the essence of Marxism and the lifeline of Party history research. In the preface to the first volume of Capital, Marx wrote, “My view is that the development of the economic formation of society is to be regarded as a process of natural history.” This methodology that regards historical development as an objective process is precisely the theoretical origin of the correct view of Party history. In Party history research, seeking truth from facts means respecting historical facts, being loyal to historical truth, neither exaggerating achievements nor evading mistakes, and striving to present the historical face comprehensively, objectively, and accurately.
Third is the value orientation of the people’s standpoint. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasizes, “The people are the creators of history and the fundamental force that determines the future and destiny of the Party and the country.” This important judgment runs the Marxist view of the masses through Party history research, requiring researchers to always examine history from the standpoint of the people, paying attention to the people’s principal position and creative role in the historical process. This is both an adherence to Marx and Engels’ idea that “historical activity is the activity of the masses” and an academic manifestation of the fundamental purpose of the Chinese Communist Party.
Finally is the deepening of the understanding of historical laws. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasizes, “Historical development has its laws, but within them people are not completely passive. As long as we grasp the laws and general trends of historical development, seize the opportunity of historical change, 顺势而为 (shùn shì ér wéi - “follow the trend and act), and 奋发有为 (fèn fā yǒu wéi - “strive vigorously and achieve something”), we can advance better.” This important discourse both acknowledges the objectivity of historical laws and emphasizes people’s subjective initiative, embodying the Marxist thought of the dialectical unity of historical inevitability and contingency. It enlightens us that in Party history research, we must not only reveal the objective laws of historical development, but also pay attention to the choices and creations of historical subjects under specific historical conditions.
From the perspective of the development of Marxist historiography, the correct view of Party history is a creative application of historical materialism in the new era. Historical materialism emphasizes understanding history from the perspective of social existence, but how to concretize this principle into operational standards for Party history research has always been a problem that needs deepening. The correct view of Party history, taking “theme and main line, mainstream and essence” as the guiding framework, provides a concrete and clear analytical framework for Party history research. It must be emphasized that the correct view of Party history does not exclude academic debate. On the contrary, it encourages in-depth research on specific historical facts, processes, and mechanisms, on the premise that major historical issues are based on the resolutions, and requires “strengthening the foundational work of data collection and collation, striving to obtain primary materials as much as possible,” pursuing academic depth in the correct direction and responding to the issues of the times with solid historical documentation.
The Methodological Significance of the Correct View of Party History
Since the establishment of the correct view of Party history, it has had a profound impact on the study of Party history in the new era. At the methodological level, it has played a key role in at least two directions.
First, it has provided directional guidance for deepening research. The combination of the correct view of Party history and the grand historical view has given rise to a series of landmark research achievements. One Hundred Years of the Chinese Communist Party, compiled by the Institute of Party History and Literature of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (中共中央党史和文献研究院), takes 1840 as the narrative starting point, linking the Party’s hundred-year struggle process with the historical theme of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. It is the most systematic and complete official history of the Communist Party of China published so far, covering the longest time span and the most comprehensive content. In terms of tracing the historical origins of Chinese-style modernization, it systematically sorts out the historical thread from the Westernization Movement to the Hundred Days’ Reform, from the Xinhai Revolution to the May Fourth New Culture Movement, clearly revealing that the Communist Party of China-led modernization exploration is rooted in the historical soil of modern China’s struggle for national salvation. In terms of the historical interpretation of the “second integration,” Party history research has revealed, from a historical dimension, the natural compatibility genes between Marxism and the excellent traditional Chinese culture in dimensions such as materialism, dialectics, people-oriented thought, and the utopian ideal of Great Harmony.
Second, it has provided a theoretical weapon for criticizing historical nihilism. The “grand historical view” and “seeking truth from facts” emphasized by the correct view of Party history are two sharp tools for dismantling historical nihilism. Under this guidance, the academic community has continuously analyzed and forcefully refuted historical nihilist thought; a series of thematic studies have caused some viewpoints to collapse on their own; relevant academic journals have also provided an important platform for scholars to confront erroneous historical views and dare to “draw their swords.” The correct view of Party history is not a dogma, but a method; not a constraint, but a orientation. It enables researchers to have a fundamental criterion for judging right and wrong when faced with complex historical materials and divergent opinions.
The methodological significance of the correct view of Party history is also reflected in the innovation of the research paradigm of Party history. Traditional Party history research often focused on the narration of political history and military history, paying insufficient attention to economic history, social history, cultural history, and other aspects. Under the guidance of the correct view of Party history, more and more scholars have begun to pay attention to multiple dimensions of the Party’s history, and to examine the Party’s history from perspectives such as social structure, people’s lives, and ideology and culture. The comprehensive and pluralistic research paradigm has become increasingly prominent, not only enriching the content of Party history research but also broadening the scope of Party history research.
The Correct View of Party History and the Construction of an Independent Knowledge System of the History of the Chinese Communist Party
In 2022, when inspecting Renmin University of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed, “To accelerate the construction of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics, in the final analysis, is to construct China’s independent knowledge system.” Constructing an independent knowledge system of the history of the Chinese Communist Party means that Party history research must break free from the shackles of Western theoretical frameworks, refine concepts, construct paradigms, and form discourse from China’s own historical experience, so that research is truly rooted in the land of China and possesses a distinct subjectivity. The correct view of Party history has an irreplaceable guiding role in this process.
Tracing back the academic lineage, the exploration of China’s independent knowledge system did not begin today. The “two-process theory” proposed by Mao Zedong in The Chinese Revolution and the Chinese Communist Party, with the dual perspective of class analysis and national liberation, accurately grasped the social nature, principal contradictions, and historical main line of modern China. It is the theoretical cornerstone of the revolutionary history paradigm in the study of modern Chinese history and has important pioneering significance. Mao Zedong emphasized, “When we study China, we must take China as the center; we must sit on the body of China to study the things of the world.” This is precisely the most fundamental stance of the independent knowledge system.
In 2022, the discipline of the history and construction of the Chinese Communist Party (中共党史党建学) was formally established as a first-level discipline. This is a landmark institutional breakthrough. The establishment of the first-level discipline fundamentally solved the long-standing predicament in which the study of the history of the Chinese Communist Party was scattered across multiple disciplines such as political science, Marxist theory, and history, providing independent disciplinary attribution and institutional support for research. Concepts and categories are the basic elements of a knowledge system; without one’s own concepts and categories, there can be no independent knowledge system. In recent years, using Chinese concepts to speak of Chinese matters, and expressing the meaning of the time with the language of the time, has become a trend in the academic community.
Historical materials, as the foundation of historical research, are an important support for building an independent knowledge system of China. General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out, “Put historical conclusions on the basis of detailed and accurate historical material support and thorough and meticulous research analysis.” Since the beginning of the new era, Party history research has adhered to the principle of prioritizing historical materials, with simultaneous efforts to build both offline and online historical material resources. Offline, large-scale historical document series such as the Revival Library (《复兴文库》) have been published one after another; online, the construction of databases relying on modern information technology has achieved remarkable results, universally realizing convenient functions such as item retrieval, full-text retrieval, and knowledge point positioning, greatly lowering the threshold for accessing historical materials.
Over the past hundred years and more, the Chinese Communist Party’s understanding of its own history has undergone a process of evolution from spontaneity to consciousness, from monism to pluralism, from the partial to the whole. The fundamental method running through it all has always been seeking truth from facts. The “correctness” of the correct view of Party history, in the final analysis, is the “seeking truth” of seeking truth from facts. To know why it was born is to understand where it is heading; to know how it came to be this way is to judge what it ought to do. This is the deepest significance of the correct view of Party history for the study of the history of the Chinese Communist Party in the new era.
[The author is the Director of the Department of Literature and History Teaching and Research at the Central Party School (National Academy of Governance) (中央党校（国家行政学院）文史教研部主任).]
Return to TopKeep pace with the trend of development, always stand at the forefront of the times. Our Party upholds a high degree of historical consciousness and a broad global perspective, soberly grasps China's national conditions and the themes of the times, actively identifies changes, responds to changes, and seeks changes, keenly blazes new trails and advances with enterprise, promotes the Party's work in all fields to embody the characteristics of the times, grasp the laws of development, and be rich in creativity, leads the country and the nation to advance in the logic of historical progress and develop in the tide of the times, and becomes a worthy vanguard of the times and the backbone of the nation.
Return to TopBy: 于晓莉
The International Labour Organization predicts that one-quarter of global jobs face a high risk of replacement by AI. McKinsey has significantly raised its forecast for the replacement ratio of white-collar jobs in advanced economies. Several top international consulting firms have simultaneously suspended on-campus recruitment for analysts as AI analysis tools are widely adopted. These cutting-edge signals fully confirm that AI's impact on the global job market has long transcended the level of technological iteration; it is systematically eroding standardized, knowledge-based process work. The global employment landscape is undergoing structural reshaping. Short-term frictional unemployment pressure is rising, and over the long cycle, the imbalance in the labor market continues to intensify. Building an employment governance system adapted to the era of AI has become a critical problem that urgently needs to be solved globally.
The overall situation of AI's impact on global employment at present
The boundary of job replacement continues to expand outward, extending from repetitive physical labor to standardized knowledge-based work. Over the past few decades, industrial automation mainly affected physical jobs such as assembly line production, but the explosion of generative AI has spread the wave of replacement to medium-standardized mental labor such as legal document drafting, basic data analysis, and entry-level translation. Institutions such as Goldman Sachs estimate that nearly 300 million occupational tasks globally have the technical feasibility of being replaced by generative AI. Middle-skilled white-collar workers have become the main group bearing the pressure of this round of technological iteration. The traditional balance that lasted for half a century, in which 'physical laborers yield benefits, mental laborers share dividends,' has been completely broken. The psychological impact and occupational anxiety brought by this 'brain replacement' are far more profound than physical replacement.
Enterprises are proactively compressing entry-level positions, and the supply of youth employment opportunities globally continues to shrink. In recent years, a homogeneous phenomenon has commonly appeared in countries such as the United States and South Korea, where enterprises have reduced their recruitment scale for interns and fresh graduates year by year. Statistics from U.S. compensation survey institutions show that in industries with high AI penetration, the employment scale of the 22-25 age group has declined by nearly 16% in the past two years. The reduction in recruitment is particularly prominent in industries such as finance and consulting, culture and media, the internet industry, and professional services. Tens of millions of young people enter the labor market every year, but the total number of entry-level positions shrinks year by year, forcing them to face the dilemma of 'graduating and being unemployed' or engaging in long-term informal employment. The long-term employment difficulties of young people have gradually evolved from a single-country issue to a common global problem.
The distribution pattern of technological gains is imbalanced, and the problem of global income divergence is intensifying. The productivity dividends brought by AI are highly concentrated among capital owners, technology platforms, and high-end talent, making it difficult for ordinary workers to share the benefits of technological progress. A survey by the World Economic Forum shows that over half of enterprises have used AI to improve profit levels, but only one in ten enterprises have simultaneously raised employee salaries. The growth rate of capital returns is significantly higher than that of labor compensation. The labor market is splitting into high-skilled groups that can harness AI and ordinary workers whose skills can be standardized, with the wage gap continuing to widen. At the same time, the AI development gap between developed countries and the Global South continues to widen. Developed countries, relying on their technological advantages, occupy the dividends of digital development, while the Global South first bears the employment impact but finds it difficult to share in the benefits of technological development, further exacerbating the imbalance in global income distribution.
Medium- to long-term development trends of AI reshaping the global employment landscape
In the short term, AI mainly brings frictional unemployment caused by job adjustments. However, with the comprehensive popularization of large models over three to five years, the employment impact will shift from local disturbances to systemic restructuring, while also leaving a precious policy adjustment window for economies around the world.
On the one hand, temporary frictional unemployment is gradually turning into long-term, global structural unemployment. At the current stage, most unemployed people can move across industries through simple training. But looking at a longer development cycle, a large number of medium-skilled jobs will permanently disappear, the corresponding skill systems will become entirely obsolete, and original practitioners cannot adapt to emerging jobs through short-term training. Unemployment is shifting from 'waiting for matching' to a long-term state of 'skills becoming outdated.' Unlike cyclical unemployment caused by economic downturns, this structural unemployment cannot be resolved through fiscal stimulus or expanding investment; it can only be resolved through the overall upgrading of the labor force's skill system. In the coming period, structural unemployment will no longer be a local phenomenon but a global economic norm, becoming a major test of national governance capabilities.
On the other hand, job replacement across industries exhibits a tiered release characteristic, providing a global policy adjustment window. AI's replacement of jobs unfolds progressively along the gradients of 'technical feasibility' and 'economic viability': the first to be replaced are areas with high repetition, clear rules, and sufficient data, such as basic customer service, junior coders, and standard copywriting. Jobs involving complex interpersonal communication, strategic decision-making, creative ideation, and high non-standardization are at the back end of the replacement curve. The tiered release characteristic allows countries to calmly guide the labor force toward transitioning to 'human-machine collaboration,' and to proactively establish three lines of defense: a lifelong learning system, a transition mechanism, and social security. If the window is missed, subsequent governance costs will rise sharply.
Furthermore, the labor market structure is polarizing, and the systemic risk of class solidification is rising. AI squeezes medium-skilled job positions, accelerating the polarization of the labor market toward 'high-skill, high-pay' and 'low-skill, low-pay' extremes. On one end are high-paying jobs requiring creativity, decision-making, and complex social skills; on the other end are low-end service jobs such as elderly care and offline services that cannot be digitized. Middle white-collar jobs continue to collapse. Therefore, some media have predicted that populism, anti-technology sentiment, and anti-globalization trends will continue to ferment, easily triggering large-scale social anxiety and intensification of conflicts, even putting pressure on existing social consensus and government systems.
Main approaches of the world's major economies in responding to AI replacing human employment
Establishing a multi-party coordinated governance framework to systematically enhance labor force transition and adaptation capabilities. Developed countries have abandoned the model of a single labor department as the sole authority, shifting to multi-party coordination among governments, enterprises, educational institutions, and trade unions. Singapore has established a national AI council led by the Prime Minister to coordinate industrial upgrading and labor force transition, relying on a lifelong learning platform to issue annual training credits to all citizens and conduct targeted digital skills training. The United Kingdom, coordinated by the AI Office, has released employment impact assessment reports and skills guidance, using mechanisms such as the National Skills Fund to align education and training with enterprise needs. Germany has extended its dual-system vocational education into a lifelong continuing education system, providing paid leave and financial subsidies for employees to participate in training, and using tax deductions to incentivize enterprises to carry out on-the-job skills upgrading. The Netherlands has attempted to incorporate employment impact assessment into legislation, promoting the design of 'skills bridge' programs by industry and vocational training institutions targeting occupations that may be replaced. Building a lifelong learning system has become a consensus among many countries, and the focus of policy innovation is shifting to how to precisely target learning incentives to the middle-aged groups most in need of job transition.
Implementing proactive legal regulation to slow down the pace of disorderly job replacement. To prevent enterprises from laying off employees indiscriminately solely for cost reduction, major economies have generally introduced forward-looking rules to moderately constrain the deployment of AI. The European Union's AI Act clearly stipulates that high-risk AI applications must conduct employment impact assessments, a three-month job transition period must be reserved before large-scale use of automation systems, and employees cannot be laid off in batches at once. South Korea has amended its Basic Act on Employment Policy, requiring enterprises to submit replacement plans and transition plans to the labor department in advance when introducing automation systems to replace human labor. Canada has issued a job impact assessment guide, requiring federally regulated industries to complete employment impact assessments before deploying automation systems. Italy has established an AI employment observation agency. Any digital solutions that may cause large-scale job losses must be negotiated between labor and management before implementation, using legal means to lengthen the replacement cycle and buy time for workers to transition. Proactively 'slowing down' to gain time, using rule of law to gain space, is not about suppressing technological innovation, but about setting necessary safety valves for change.
Improving employment equity supervision and income redistribution mechanisms to resolve social issues arising from technological transformation. In response to prominent problems such as imbalanced distribution of technological dividends and damage to labor rights, advanced economies have begun to explore redistribution paths that fit digital transformation. France has invested 700 million euros to implement a national AI literacy improvement plan, providing free job transition training for groups affected by job displacement, and using the incremental tax revenue generated by technological progress to support vulnerable groups. Germany has moderately raised the capital gains tax and established a special social fund for digital transformation to assist older workers and those with low education levels. Nordic countries are studying the imposition of a special adjustment tax on the excess profits of AI platforms to compensate for the labor remuneration gap, while strengthening anti-employment discrimination supervision, prohibiting enterprises from rejecting fresh graduates on the grounds that AI can replace them, and not allowing layoffs to be implemented solely based on algorithmic results, pushing the rescue logic from 'protecting jobs' to 'protecting workers.' Balancing efficiency and equity is both a realistic choice to resolve current contradictions and a long-term strategy to solidify the foundation of a digital society, making digital development both fast and warm.
(The author is from the National Development and Reform Commission (国家发展改革委).)
Return to TopBy: 倪东辉
In his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference and the High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance, President Xi Jinping pointed out: “We must use the common values of all humanity to shape the values of artificial intelligence, make good use of AI technology to enhance understanding and tolerance among different civilizations, promote mutual learning among different civilizations, and carefully cultivate a garden of civilizations where 各美其美、美美与共 (gè měi qí měi, měi měi yǔ gòng - “each beauty its own beauty, beauty together in harmony,” mutual respect and shared flourishing).” This important exposition, grounded in the era of AI profoundly reshaping the global information dissemination landscape, deeply clarifies the intrinsic logic between intelligent technology and the development of human civilization, pointing the way for global AI governance and the use of digital tools to promote cross-civilization dialogue.
AI technology possesses unique advantages of cross-lingual, immersive, and inclusive capabilities, providing a new digital pathway to narrow distances between civilizations and dissolve cognitive barriers. First, multimodal cross-lingual intelligence breaks down language barriers. Relying on machine translation, real-time speech recognition, and multilingual text conversion technology, AI can rapidly complete instant translation among dozens of languages, transforming national classics, intangible cultural heritage historical materials, and development documentation into globally readable content, eliminating the most fundamental language obstacle to cross-civilization communication, allowing niche civilizations and regionally distinctive cultures to transcend geographic limitations. Second, digital replication technology enables immersive sharing of civilizational achievements. Through tools such as 3D modeling, virtual restoration, digital twins, and AI painting, vanished monuments, traditional handicrafts, and folk rituals can undergo digital replication; overseas audiences can experience exotic civilizations immersively without leaving home, changing the shortcomings of traditional offline exchange — high time and space costs and limited coverage — expanding channels for civilizational display. Third, intelligent interactive tools construct scenarios for equal two-way dialogue. Government AI agents, cross-border Q&A bots, and knowledge graph interaction systems abandon the one-way output dissemination model; relying on multi-turn dialogue and intelligent search functions, audiences can initiate questions and conduct in-depth exchanges on their own, breaking free from the limitations of traditional one-way international communication, achieving equal dialogue between different civilizational subjects, enabling people of all nations to autonomously understand diverse cultures, shifting from passive reception to active exploration, and consolidating the mass foundation for civilizational tolerance. These three technological advantages greatly lower the threshold for cross-civilization exchange, providing unprecedented technical support for promoting mutual acquaintance and understanding among diverse civilizations.
At the same time, it should be recognized that the neutral nature of technology determines that AI itself does not carry a civilizational stance. Current global industry development has governance blind spots, posing three prominent challenges to civilizational exchange and mutual learning. First, structural imbalance in training corpora fosters monopoly of a single narrative. Most general large models scrape massive amounts of fragmented overseas internet material, lacking sufficient authoritative structured data such as each country’s orthodox history, national classics, and distinctive development achievements, causing models to carry inherent Western perspectives when interpreting foreign cultures; when interpreting a given civilization, one-sided or belittling expressions easily appear, and over time a single-value narrative dominates the digital space, squeezing the space for expression of diverse civilizations. Second, algorithmic bias and information cocoons exacerbate civilizational estrangement. The algorithmic traffic distribution mechanism tends to push homogenized, labeled content, easily affixing stereotyped labels to different civilizations; information cocoons limit audiences’ exposure to diverse cultures; people receiving one-sided information over the long term cannot objectively and fully understand other countries’ development paths and cultural cores, instead deepening civilizational misunderstanding and cognitive opposition. Third, technology abuse brings risks of cultural infiltration. Some actors use generative AI to mass-produce false content that distorts other countries’ history and denigrates foreign civilizations, rapidly spreading it across borders; data poisoning, malicious generation, and other means deliberately twist civilizational narratives, negate civilizational diversity with a single evaluative standard, and use intelligent tools to output one-sided values, impacting the cultural sovereignty of various countries and hindering the formation of an equal and tolerant civilizational exchange atmosphere. Facing these challenges, it is necessary to grasp the direction of technology for good from the following aspects, using AI as a carrier to build bridges of mutual learning that transcend geography, culture, and language.
Build a global system of diverse authoritative corpora, consolidating the data foundation for equal dissemination of world civilizations. Solving the structural imbalance of global AI corpora and the monopoly of a single civilizational narrative is a foundational project for safeguarding civilizational diversity in the intelligent era. All countries should, based on their own civilizational characteristics, independently build standardized, structured national civilizational corpora, systematically collect authoritative high-quality data such as national historical classics, folk culture, intangible cultural heritage achievements, and development practices, fill the data gaps of niche civilizations, and prevent fragmented online noise from dominating AI cognitive systems. Globally, unified data governance standards should be established, with common norms for compliant cleaning, desensitization labeling, and timeliness verification, filtering out distorted, slanderous, one-sided, and stereotyped harmful data materials, retaining objective and authentic diverse civilizational content. Relying on retrieval-augmented generation technology, regulate the content generation logic of various global general large models and cross-border intelligent tools, using authoritative knowledge bases to generate disseminated content. At the same time, promote the construction of a global civilizational corpus sharing alliance, open data exchange channels across countries, enrich AI training samples of diverse civilizations, break the discursive hegemony of a single civilization at the source, and lay a solid data foundation for equal digital voicing of all world civilizations.
Calibrate global algorithmic logic with the common values of all humanity, building a full-process control mechanism for cross-civilization interaction. The common values of all humanity are a universal value yardstick for resolving global algorithmic bias and dissolving civilizational estrangement, and must run through the entire chain of global AI research, training, and application. The global AI R&D field should abandon single-civilization value standards, actively absorb the value cores of the world’s diverse civilizations, incorporate multi-civilization comparative training corpora, and through supervised fine-tuning and reinforcement learning from human feedback, continuously correct inherent algorithmic bias, preventing AI from evaluating the development practices of different countries and civilizations with a single standard. Build a globally applicable cross-cultural content verification system; for scenarios such as international exchange, cross-border dissemination, and civilizational interpretation, intelligently identify and intercept harmful content such as civilizational denigration, stereotyping, and historical distortion. Establish global AI content hierarchical constraints and manual review mechanisms, standardize application boundaries of various cross-border intelligent tools, ensuring that AI maintains objectivity and neutrality when interpreting various civilizations, respecting the unique development trajectories of different civilizations. Regulate global intelligent technology development with a unified positive value coordinate system, promoting a situation where different civilizations in the intelligent field each maintain their own beauty, do not conflict, and coexist inclusively.
Improve the global collaborative governance system, expanding digital scenarios where AI empowers civilizational mutual learning. AI empowering global civilizational exchange and mutual learning requires dual support from global governance rules and diverse application scenarios. The international community should abandon mindsets of technological barriers and cultural confrontation, build a multilateral and collaborative AI civilizational governance framework, consolidate governance consensus among countries, introduce universal AI governance rules that accommodate the cultural sovereignty of all nations and embrace the world’s diverse civilizations, and jointly resist bad practices of using algorithmic technology to conduct cultural infiltration and deliberately denigrate foreign civilizations. Promote international cooperation on AI-driven civilizational exchange, open cross-border intelligent dissemination channels, jointly build a global digital platform for sharing civilizations, and rely on technologies such as multilingual translation, digital twins, and immersive interaction to achieve cross-border digital dissemination of global intangible cultural heritage sites, civilizational achievements, and folk culture. Innovate equal two-way intelligent dialogue scenarios, break the traditional one-way dissemination model, rely on multi-turn intelligent interaction technology, help people of all countries carry out equal, deep cross-civilization communication, dissolve cognitive misunderstandings caused by information asymmetry, and enable AI to truly become a long-term digital bridge connecting world civilizations, gathering global consensus, and promoting shared beauty and harmony.
Return to TopBy: 刘佳
Recently, two internet buzzwords, Extreme Sinicization (极致中国化) and Become Chinese (成为中国人) , have emerged on major overseas social media platforms. Their connotations can be summarized as “filling up with Chinese elements to the maximum, pushing the Chinese lifestyle to the extreme,” or “immersing oneself in a state of highly pure Chinese-style living.” The video content covers a wide range, from replicating Chinese life customs such as “drinking hot water” and “making soup,” to coming to China to experience national trends, Chinese style, and Chinese society, and then to reading Chinese culture and appreciating value concepts. The overseas groups participating in creation continue to expand, and the content dissemination scenarios become increasingly diverse, continuously giving rise to new buzzwords such as Chinese-style sense of security (中国式安全感) and Chinese flair (中国范儿) . Currently, the popularity of related topics continues to climb, with cumulative views reaching billions. This craze is becoming a typical phenomenal cross-cultural communication sample, becoming a new fashion in the pop culture of Generation Z in Europe and America.
This new trend of “Extreme Sinicization” and “Become Chinese” exhibits the following typical communication characteristics. First, breaking through traditional cultural symbols and turning to experiential daily life practices. For a long time, overseas people’s perception of Chinese culture has been largely limited to traditional cultural symbols such as Hanfu, paper-cutting, traditional martial arts, calligraphy, and special cuisine. The new trend pays more attention to Chinese people’s daily life scenes. The British Broadcasting Corporation observed that a large number of netizens who love the Chinese lifestyle have emerged on overseas social platforms, and this trend is particularly prominent among American youth groups. Overseas media Complex wrote an article analyzing that many young Americans actively adopt Chinese lifestyle concepts, insisting on regular routines and focusing on physical and mental health maintenance. Currently, a large number of overseas bloggers completely replicate Chinese home daily life: changing into cotton slippers when entering the house, soaking feet in hot water before sleep, drinking warm water to moisten the body in the morning, making soup and porridge daily, practicing Baduanjin for health preservation, thoroughly transforming “China” from a cultural symbol into a lifestyle that can be personally practiced and immersively experienced. Second, breaking away from official communication frameworks, forming original spontaneous creation by overseas youth. For a long time, China’s international communication has mostly relied on official media and professional institutions to carry out content production and build communication channels, presenting an overall top-down centralized communication model. In stark contrast, the main creative force of this new trend is overseas non-governmental youth groups. Creators independently complete the entire chain of content production including material shooting and post-editing, publishing original documentary works on overseas mainstream social platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, objectively sharing what they saw, thought, and felt during their visits to China, constructing a non-governmental communication pattern of multi-point simultaneous pushing and multi-subject coordinated voice. Third, shifting from shallow novelty-seeking viewing to immersive cultural exploration. In the past, overseas youth mostly held an onlooker mentality when viewing China, and their focus was often limited to the distinctive cultural traditions and folk customs that differ between China and foreign countries. Now, creators of this new trend actively break through the one-sided Oriental narrative, focus their observation on real Chinese-style daily life, and lower their creative perspective to diverse realistic scenes such as city documentaries, rural life, intangible cultural heritage visits, and food experiences. Related creations extend from daily life and marketplace scenes to practical topics such as urban governance, rural infrastructure, and the modernization transformation of traditional culture, showcasing China’s development achievements through vivid practices and deeply excavating the cultural heritage and value core contained therein.
The new trend’s popularity overseas, especially becoming a new fashion for Generation Z in Europe and America, contains multiple driving factors behind it. First, the rise of China’s comprehensive national strength, and the Chinese-style lifestyle forms a unique attraction. National strength development itself has global attention, and a series of development outcomes resulting from it, such as efficient modern urban governance systems, accessible and convenient logistics and transportation networks, full-coverage people-friendly digital services, refined and perfect grassroots governance models, and livable and stable rural development prospects, are continuously capturing the attention of overseas people and increasing the overseas communication heat of related topics. Second, the Western modernization development model shows shortcomings, spurring value reflection among youth groups. Western modernization, after long-term development, has accumulated structural contradictions such as wealth disparity, social fragmentation, and insufficient governance efficiency, giving rise to multiple spiritual dilemmas such as mental anxiety, spiritual emptiness, interpersonal alienation, and value confusion. Some overseas youth visit China in person and witness with their own eyes the stable and orderly development, digital services benefiting the general public, people living and working in peace and contentment, and friendly treatment of others. This forms a sharp contrast with the Western narratives they previously encountered, prompting them to rethink the true connotation of modernity. At the same time, the Chinese lifestyle and cultural symbols contain value pursuits of “harmonious coexistence” and “unity of heaven and man,” supplemented by life wisdom such as the golden mean and maintaining correctness, balancing tension and relaxation, harmonizing body and mind, neighborly harmony, and nourishing body and spirit, bringing spiritual comfort and cultural enlightenment to overseas youth trapped in spiritual difficulties. Under the dual reflection of on-the-ground experience and spiritual exploration, many overseas youth sincerely identify with Chinese-style modernization and Chinese culture, actively create and share content related to “Extreme Sinicization” and “Become Chinese,” promoting the continuous heating and spread of related topics on overseas social platforms. Third, self-created content weakens propaganda overtones, significantly lowering the threshold for cross-cultural cognition. Professional communication institutions rely on professional narrative frameworks and refined script expression, with complete content systems, rigorous logic, and precise wording, capable of transmitting information comprehensively and three-dimensionally. However, they also easily inadvertently strengthen propaganda overtones due to their professional identity and high precision of content, creating barriers at the audience’s psychological level and raising the cognitive threshold. In contrast, overseas creators of the new trend approach daily life from the perspective of ordinary people, present daily observations and share personal experiences through documentary-style footage, with content that is plain and natural, without obvious script traces. This kind of civilian-oriented and life-oriented communication form effectively narrows the psychological distance with overseas audiences, while gaining trust, lowers the cognitive threshold for culture, attracting overseas people to actively watch, participate in discussions, and enthusiastically forward.
Facing the trend of “Extreme Sinicization” and “Become Chinese” rising among Generation Z in Europe and America, we should seize the favorable opportunity of spontaneous folk communication, actively consolidate the effectiveness of international communication, and push this popular overseas online fashion to go deeper and more solid.
Consolidate the cognitive foundation, three-dimensionally present the real scenes of people’s livelihood to cultivate goodwill towards China among European and American youth. First, encourage various localities to rely on international communication centers and other external communication institutions to actively explore and objectively present local unique customs, regional features, folk culture, and economic and social development, presenting to overseas people a colorful China with diverse resource endowments. Second, continuously excavate characteristic scenes and high-quality topics with communication potential, maintain the heat of related content over the long term, attract overseas creators to come to China for inspiration and creation, and promote existing communication hot spots to continue heating up and radiating to a wider audience. Third, improve the supporting service guarantee system. Strengthen the service coordination of local culture and tourism, foreign affairs, and other departments, provide necessary assistance in venue coordination, itinerary linking, and ease of inspiration gathering, so that creators, on the basis of in-depth understanding of Chinese society and culture, can more conveniently carry out content shooting and production, and more effectively present to overseas youth the real and tangible real scenes of Chinese people’s livelihood.
Elevate value expression, deeply excavate cultural heritage to consolidate lasting identification among youth. On the one hand, start from superficial cultural symbols and decode the value concepts behind them layer by layer. Closely follow hot topics to carry out popularized and scenario-based explanations, elucidating the cultural concepts, humanistic heritage, and historical context contained in the content involved in the new trend. On the other hand, use Chinese culture to respond to the spiritual concerns prevalent among overseas youth. Deeply explain the value pursuits and life wisdom of Chinese culture, making Chinese culture a valuable cultural resource for alleviating the spiritual confusion and cultural anxiety of global youth. In addition, promote collaborative co-creation among youth creators at home and abroad. Use joint creation to build cross-cultural communication bridges, consolidate emotional resonance through collaboration, create high-quality cultural works that are compatible with multiple civilizations and manifest the concept of harmony in diversity, and promote lasting identification with Chinese culture among overseas youth.
Innovate communication forms, rely on short video exchanges among youth at home and abroad to expand circle influence. Closely follow the media preferences and aesthetic characteristics of youth at home and abroad to design communication paths, and widely absorb youth at home and abroad to participate in content creation and interactive sharing. First, focus on creating lightweight content topics, continuously lowering the threshold for participation in creation. Launch open, inclusive, threshold-friendly, and highly appealing creation topics, so that overseas youth from different cultural backgrounds and various circles can carry out content creation and participate in topic discussions from their own perspectives, guiding more overseas youth to actively approach China and engage in this communication trend. Second, expand and enrich interactive communication methods, fully stimulate youth’s enthusiasm for participation. Flexibly use short video popular interactive modes such as co-creation filming, themed challenges, and secondary editing to mobilize youth’s enthusiasm for creation and sharing, deepening overseas youth’s immersive sense of emotional involvement in the “Extreme Sinicization” and “Become Chinese” related content. Finally, focus on implementing circle-based precise distribution, effectively improving the actual effect of content reach. Provide differentiated content in layers for groups such as campus youth, urban youth, and enthusiasts of Chinese-style culture, matching topics such as market life documentaries, urban and rural development features, intangible cultural heritage and Chinese-style inheritance respectively, to match the interest demands of different overseas youth, and amplify the effect of external communication in all aspects.
Return to TopBy: 马丽
To deeply understand and grasp the scientific essence of Xi Jinping’s thought on Party building, one must thoroughly comprehend the fourteen uphold principles (十四个坚持), of which the fifth uphold is precisely "adhere to taking the Party's political construction as the overarching guide." This major proposition originates from the profound洞察 of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core regarding the new mission of the new era, and from its profound summation of the Party’s historical experience and the laws of its own construction. It constitutes the fundamental requirement for Party building in the new era. To advance the great new project of Party building in the new era, it is necessary to highlight the fundamental status of the Party’s political construction, deeply grasp the deployment requirements of using political construction to lead all aspects of Party building, ensure that the entire Party maintains a high degree of consistency with the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core in terms of political stance, political direction, political principles, and political path, continuously consolidate the Party’s unity and solidarity, and constantly enhance the Party’s creativity, cohesion, and combat effectiveness.
Taking a clear stand on politics is a political advantage that the Communist Party of China has consistently maintained.
守株待兔 (shǒu zhū dài tù - "guard the stump, await the rabbit") Any political party has a political attribute, its own political mission, political goals, and political pursuits. A Marxist political party is not a party formed by individual interests, but an advanced political force that takes the realization of the fundamental interests of the vast majority of the people and the advancement of human liberation as its mission. Different from many other political parties in the world, Marxist political parties have never concealed their political propositions and class stance since their birth. Talking about politics is a prominent feature and advantage of Marxist political parties. Marx and Engels profoundly expounded on the advanced character, political stance, lofty ideals, revolutionary program, and internationalist spirit of Marxist political parties in the Communist Manifesto, clearly stating that "the Communists disdain to conceal their views and aims." Lenin emphasized, "A class cannot maintain its rule if it does not correctly look at problems from a political perspective." The history of the international communist movement has repeatedly shown that if a Marxist political party loses its political advanced nature, it will be difficult to maintain the Party’s advanced nature and purity, and the Party’s cause will be severely affected. Talking about politics is a fundamental issue concerning the very existence and survival of a Marxist political party.
As a Marxist political party, the Communist Party of China has always attached great importance to building the Party politically, and has consistently run a clear-cut political stance through the entire process of governing the Party and developing the cause. During the New Democratic Revolution period, Mao Zedong insisted on closely linking Party building with the Party’s political line. As early as the Jinggangshan period, the Party, through political education, enabled the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army to "all possess class consciousness" (都有了阶级觉悟), making it clear that they fought for themselves and for the workers' and peasants' class. The Gutian Conference criticized the viewpoint of opposing military affairs to politics, formally established the principles of building the Party ideologically and building the army politically, and pointed out that "the thoughts of Party members and the life within the Party must both be politicized." After the founding of New China, the Communist Party of China prominently emphasized the unity of the Party and the centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee. In 1954, the Fourth Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Party deliberated and adopted the Resolution on Strengthening the Unity of the Party, proposing that "the interests of Party unity are above everything else" and "opposing any words and actions that hinder the unified leadership of the Central Committee and harm the unity and prestige of the Central Committee." Facing the situation of fundamental changes in the socio-economic system in the early days of New China, Mao Zedong made the classic judgment that "political work is the lifeblood of all economic work," requiring the improvement of the political level of cadres and the masses. After the reform and opening up, Deng Xiaoping repeatedly warned the entire Party, emphasizing that "we must talk about politics no matter when." He believed that "socialist modernization is the greatest politics for us at present," pointing out that development itself is a major political task related to the people’s support; he unequivocally put forward the Four Fundamental Principles, which set a firm political stance for reform and opening up and delineated an insurmountable political red line. Reviewing the Party’s history, focusing on building the Party politically is a fine tradition formed through the Party’s struggle over more than a hundred years, and it is an important guarantee for the Party’s continuous development and growth, and its march from victory to victory.
Adhering to taking the Party’s political construction as the overarching guide is the fundamental requirement for Party building in the new era.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has advanced comprehensive and strict governance of the Party with unprecedented courage and resolve. Practical problems remind us that the Party’s political construction is related to the direction and effect of Party building. If we do not attach importance to the Party’s political construction or deviate from the direction guided by the Party’s political construction, it will be difficult for the construction of the Party’s ideology, organization, work style, discipline, and other aspects to achieve expected results; if we only understand and handle problems from the surface level without delving deep into the political roots, governing the Party will easily fall into a situation of treating the head when the head aches, treating the foot when the foot hurts (头痛医头、脚痛医脚).
Comprehensively governing the Party strictly must first be viewed from a political perspective, and political problems must be solved from a political standpoint. The Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core insists on considering overall work from a political perspective, firmly grasps the correct direction of the cause’s development with strong political resolve, calmly responds to various risks and challenges with extraordinary political courage, unites and consolidates the hearts of the Party and people with lofty political character, and pools strength for progress, providing fundamental guidance for strengthening the Party’s political construction in the new era. In 2016, the Sixth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Party deliberated and adopted the Norms for Political Life within the Party under the New Situation, proposing that governing the Party must start with governing intraparty political life, and strictly governing the Party must start with strict intraparty political life, making new institutional arrangements for strengthening and standardizing intraparty political life. The 19th National Congress of the Party explicitly put forward the major proposition of the Party’s political construction, proposed "taking the Party’s political construction as the overarching guide" in the general requirements for Party building in the new era, pointed out that the Party’s political construction is the fundamental construction of the Party, incorporated the Party’s political construction into the overall layout of Party building for the first time, and emphasized placing the Party’s political construction first. On June 29, 2018, during the sixth collective study session of the 19th Politburo, General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered an important speech specifically on strengthening the Party’s political construction, systematically explaining the major theoretical and practical issues of the Party’s political construction in the new era. In 2019, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued the Opinions on Strengthening the Party’s Political Construction, systematically deploying the various tasks for strengthening the Party’s political construction. The 20th National Congress of the Party further clarified "using political construction to lead all work of Party building," and put forward clear requirements for enforcing strict political discipline and political rules, and for improving the political judgment, political understanding, and political execution capabilities of Party organizations at all levels and Party members and cadres. This series of important speeches and deployments has greatly enriched the theory of the Party’s political construction, further deepened our Party’s understanding of the inherent laws governing the construction of a long-term governing Marxist party, and elevated the understanding of the Party’s political construction to a new height.
Adhering to using the Party’s political construction to lead all work of Party building.
The Party’s political construction is an eternal issue that allows no slackening. To adhere to taking the Party’s political construction as the overarching guide, it is necessary to firmly grasp the leading role of the Party’s political construction over all other Party constructions, to run political standards and political requirements through the entire process of the Party’s ideological construction, organizational construction, work style construction, discipline construction, institutional construction, and the fight against corruption, and to use political strengthening to promote comprehensive progress and comprehensive strengthening of Party building on the new journey.
To adhere to using the Party’s political construction to lead the Party’s ideological construction, it is necessary to take firm ideals and convictions as the primary task of the Party’s ideological construction. Ideals and convictions are the political soul of Communists, the spiritual pillar that enables Communists to withstand any test, and the ideological foundation for maintaining the Party’s unity and solidarity. It is necessary to strengthen education in ideals and convictions, guide the entire Party to keep in mind the Party’s purpose, and solve the "master switch" issue of worldview, outlook on life, and values. It is necessary to organize and implement study and education plans for the Party’s innovative theories, build a Marxist learning-oriented political party, and unremittingly use Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to solidify the soul and unite the heart.
To adhere to using the Party’s political construction to lead the Party’s organizational construction, it is necessary to place political standards first in selecting and appointing cadres, and continuously enhance the political function of Party organizations. The Party’s organizational line in the new era clarifies that the focus should be on the construction of the organizational system, with efforts concentrated on cultivating high-quality cadres who are loyal, clean, and responsible, and on gathering outstanding talents from all walks of life who are patriotic and dedicated, fully reflecting the fundamental principle that the organizational line serves the political line. It is necessary to adhere to the principle of the Party managing cadres, adhere to the criteria of both integrity and ability, with integrity first, and meritocracy, conduct in-depth and substantive political quality assessments of cadres, and truly select and use high-quality cadres who are loyal, clean, and responsible. It is necessary to improve the organizational system that is vertically connected and effectively implemented, continuously enhancing the Party’s political leadership, ideological guidance, mass organization, and social appeal.
To adhere to using the Party’s political construction to lead the Party’s work style construction, it is necessary to uphold the fundamental political stance of the people’s position. Public support is the greatest politics and determines the success or failure of the Party’s cause. To strengthen work style construction, it is necessary to firmly establish the Marxist viewpoint on the masses and take maintaining the flesh-and-blood ties between the Party and the masses as the core issue of work style construction. It is necessary to continue to deepen the rectification of the "four forms of decadence" (四风) and resolutely eradicate the privileged thinking and privileged behavior that the masses deeply detest. It is necessary to practice the Party’s mass line in the new era, enhance the concept of the masses and feelings for the masses, focus on the urgent, difficult, anxious, and hopeful problems of the people, and embody caring for the masses and cherishing the people throughout the entire process and all aspects of performing duties and fulfilling responsibilities.
To adhere to using the Party’s political construction to lead the Party’s discipline construction, it is necessary to place strict political discipline and political rules in a prominent position. Political discipline is the rule that Party organizations at all levels and all Party members must abide by in terms of political direction, political stance, political speech, and political behavior. It is the fundamental guarantee for maintaining the Party’s unity and solidarity. To strictly enforce Party discipline, the first priority is to strictly enforce political discipline. It is necessary to regard the "Two Upholds" (两个维护) as the most important political discipline and political rule, to firmly respond to what the Party Central Committee advocates, firmly implement what the Party Central Committee decides, and resolutely prevent what the Party Central Committee prohibits. Strictly implement the relevant provisions on disciplinary punishment for violations of political discipline, and use strict political discipline to drive all other disciplines to be comprehensively strict and strict to the end.
To adhere to using the Party’s political construction to lead the Party’s institutional construction, it is necessary to continuously improve the Party’s leadership system and institutions. In the intra-Party regulations system with "1+4" as the basic framework, the Party’s leadership regulations and institutions constitute one of the four core sectors. The Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee clarified the Party’s leadership system as the fundamental leadership system of our country, and proposed improving the Party’s leadership system and institutions that command the overall situation and coordinate all parties. It is necessary to continuously improve the Party’s leadership regulations and institutions, focus on establishing and improving rules and institutions in areas such as upholding and strengthening the Party’s comprehensive leadership and implementing the major decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee, and continuously promote the institutionalization of the Party’s leadership. It is necessary to safeguard the authority of the institutions, strengthen the implementation of the institutions, and ensure that the Party’s leadership is implemented in all fields, all aspects, and all links of national governance.
To adhere to using the Party’s political construction to lead the fight against corruption, it is necessary to first understand the problem of the fight against corruption from a political perspective. The fight against corruption concerns the direction of the people’s hearts and the survival of the Party. It is a major political struggle that cannot be lost and must not be lost. Only by insisting on examining it from a political perspective and correctly understanding the political nature and political harm of corruption problems can we maintain a high degree of vigilance against corruption problems and carry the fight against corruption through to the end with firm determination. It is necessary to plan and advance anti-corruption work from the height of the overall political situation, make great efforts to eradicate the soil and conditions that breed corruption, and continue to maintain a high-pressure posture in punishing corruption. It is necessary to resolutely investigate and punish corruption where political and economic issues are intertwined, resolutely prevent problems that undermine the political ecosystem, such as collusion between politics and business and capital infiltrating the political sphere, and promote the creation of a clean and upright political ecosystem (风清气正的政治生态). It is necessary to integrate the fight against corruption with political supervision, promptly discover and focus on solving the "seven have-its" problem (七个有之), and promote the concretization, precision, and normalization of political supervision.
Return to TopBy: 朱文鸿
General Secretary Xi Jinping points out: “The Party’s political construction is the fundamental construction of the Party, determining the direction and effect of the Party’s construction.” Within the complete system of Xi Jinping’s thought on Party building, comprising the “Fourteen Persistences” (十四个坚持), “persisting in taking the Party’s political construction as the统领(lǐng - guiding framework)” occupies a position that affects the overall situation. Persisting in placing the Party’s political construction first and taking the Party’s political construction as the guiding framework is not a routine work deployment, but a profound grasp of the laws of Party building and a scientific answer to the question of “what makes a Marxist party itself.” Positioning political construction as “fundamental construction” is a scientific grasp of the logic of political party development. Every political party has its own political mission, political goals, and political pursuits; what distinguishes Marxist political parties is that they “possess lofty political ideals, noble political pursuits, pure political qualities, and strict political discipline.” This political advanced nature is the fundamental hallmark that distinguishes Marxist political parties from all other political parties. The reason political construction is “fundamental” is that it answers not the question of method — “how to do it” — but the question of direction — “for whom to act, whose orders to obey, and where to go.” It is necessary to deeply understand the extreme importance of the Party’s political construction, to carry political standards and political requirements throughout the Party’s ideological construction, organizational construction, conduct construction, discipline construction, institutional construction, and the fight against corruption, to use the Party’s political construction to lead and drive comprehensive and rigorous Party governance deeper, to promote an overall improvement in the quality of Party building, and to ensure the Party’s unity and solidarity.
For over a hundred years, our Party has always attached importance to its political construction. Mao Zedong said that “political work is the lifeblood of all economic work”; Deng Xiaoping emphasized that “at all times we must speak of politics.” The Gutian Congress established the principles of building the Party ideologically and building the army politically; the Zunyi Conference, at the most critical moment, saved the Party, saved the Red Army, and saved the Chinese revolution. The Party’s history has repeatedly proven: when politics are united and consolidated, the Party’s cause flourishes; when politics are divided and alienated, the Party’s cause suffers setbacks. General Secretary Xi Jinping points out: “Various problems existing within the Party are, fundamentally, all related to weak and feeble political construction and to the lack of seriousness and healthiness in political life.” Some people believe that corruption is an economic problem and that problems of conduct are a matter of moral character, but in the final analysis, they are all problems of political stance. The slide of corrupt elements from “good cadres” into the abyss begins first with political deterioration. If problems are not solved from a political perspective, one will treat the head when the head aches and treat the foot when the foot aches — 头痛医头、脚痛医脚 (tóu tòng yī tóu, jiǎo tòng yī jiǎo - “treat the head when the head aches, treat the foot when the foot aches,” to address symptoms rather than root causes) — addressing symptoms but not the root cause. At present, the major changes unseen in a century are accelerating, and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has entered a critical period; the further we go forward, the greater the winds and waves become. Unswervingly strengthening the Party’s political construction is the fundamental guarantee for our Party to supplement its calcium and strengthen its bones, to fortify and invigorate itself; it is an important pathway for our Party to cultivate the courage for self-reform and to enhance its capacity for self-purification. It is precisely because it speaks clearly and unequivocally about politics that our Party can forever maintain its political advanced nature.
The Party’s political construction is an eternal topic. “Taking political construction as the guiding framework” is not just a slogan, but a practical requirement that runs through all aspects of Party building. Deeply comprehend the decisive significance of the “Two Establishments” (两个确立 - referring to establishing Xi Jinping’s core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole, and establishing the guiding position of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era) and resolutely achieve the “Two Upholds” (两个维护 - upholding General Secretary Xi Jinping’s core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole, and upholding the authority and centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee). Ensuring that the entire Party obeys the Central Committee, and upholding the authority and centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, is the primary task of the Party’s political construction. The “Two Establishments” are the most significant political achievement of the Party in the new era; achieving the “Two Upholds” is the “hard benchmark” of political construction. To strengthen the Party’s political construction, it is essential to closely align with the people’s hearts — the biggest politics — and take winning people’s hearts and public opinion, and gathering popular wisdom and people’s strength, as important focal points. Cultivating a political ecology that is clean and upright is a foundational project. “When the political ecology is good, people’s hearts are at ease and righteous energy is abundant”; conversely, people’s hearts are scattered and maladies thrive. Creating a good political ecology is a long-term task; it must be treated as a basic and routine task of the Party’s political construction — dredging its sources, nurturing its forests, fostering righteous energy, consolidating the foundation, persevering unremittingly, and working for enduring success.
“All things that obtain their root flourish; all affairs that obtain their Way succeed.” The Party’s political construction is precisely the “root” and the “Way” of the Communist Party of China, this century-old major party. On the new journey of the new era, we must, with greater intensity and more concrete measures, place the Party’s political construction first and implement it in practice, ensuring that the Party forever remains unaltered in its essence, unaltered in its color, and unaltered in its flavor, forever remaining the strong leading core of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
Return to TopBy: 张太原
Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping has published a series of important expositions on Party history research, clearly proposing that “a correct view of Party history must be established,” providing a fundamental guideline for Party history research in the new era. The proposal of the correct view of Party history (正确党史观) is an innovative development of Marxist historiography theory and has important guiding significance for constructing an independent knowledge system of CPC history. Since the new era, CPC history research has made significant progress in theoretical deepening, practical response, and expansion of scope. Under the guidance of the correct view of Party history, a number of representative academic achievements have emerged in academia, and the breadth and depth of Party history research have achieved substantial progress.
The Proposal of the Correct View of Party History
The formation of the correct view of Party history has its profound historical background and practical pertinence. From the perspective of intellectual origins, the 2010 National Conference on Party History Work clearly pointed out that “to persist in studying and publicizing Party history based on facts, it is necessary to firmly grasp the theme and main line, the mainstream and essence of the Party’s historical development, and clearly reveal and publicize the historical inevitability of the formation of the CPC’s leadership position and core role in China.” This important exposition 开宗明义 (kāi zōng míng yì - “open the sect, clarify the meaning,” to state the purpose at the outset) pointed out the fundamental stance and value orientation of Party history research, laying the foundation for the formation of the correct view of Party history. In 2013, the seventh collective study session of the 18th Politburo elevated the study of Party history and national history to the height of a “compulsory course,” emphasizing that “history is the best textbook.” In 2021, at the mobilization conference for Party history study and education, the correct view of Party history moved from scattered expositions to systematic construction, pointing out that “if the view of history is wrong, not only will the goal of study and education not be achieved, but it will actually 南辕北辙 (nán yuán běi zhé - “south yoke, north rut,” to act in a way that is opposite to the goal) and lead into a mistaken path.” The proposal of this important proposition has a clear problem orientation.
The spread of the trend of historical nihilism (历史虚无主义). Since the reform and opening up, while Party history research has moved toward academization, some studies, under the names of “re-evaluation,” “restoring the truth,” and “academic freedom,” have distorted the modern and contemporary revolutionary history of China, denied the Party’s leadership and the socialist system, and habitually used the techniques of 断章取义 (duàn zhāng qǔ yì - “cut off the passage, take the meaning,” to quote out of context) and 以偏概全 (yǐ piān gài quán - “use a part to cover the whole,” to take a part for the whole) to distort history. The core of historical nihilism lies in fundamentally denying the guiding position of Marxism and the historical inevitability of China’s march toward socialism. Some people attempt to sever the two historical periods before and after reform and opening up. In response, General Secretary Xi Jinping clearly pointed out that the two periods “are essentially both practical explorations of socialist construction led by our Party and the people,” and that one cannot use the latter to deny the former, nor the former to deny the latter. Targeting certain erroneous tendencies, the correct view of Party history also emphasizes that “the evaluation of historical figures should be analyzed under the historical conditions of the era and society in which they lived; one cannot deviate from a comprehensive understanding of historical conditions and processes and a scientific grasp of historical laws, nor can one ignore the relationship between historical inevitability and historical contingency.”
The fragmenting tendency within the serious academic field. The content of CPC history is extremely rich, events emerge one after another, figures differ greatly, and the process is full of twists and turns. Without a holistic perspective, it is easy to fall into the mistaken paths of fragmented interpretation, one-sided judgment, and superficial explanation, making it difficult to touch the essence and core of history. Some scholars abandon grand historical narratives and are keen on micro-narratives, leading to being trapped in case studies from which it is difficult to extricate themselves, while fine-grained research on various branches and regions is continuously strengthened. The field of modern and contemporary Chinese history has had heated discussions on the fragmentation problem. The spread of fragmentation has caused some works to “see only the trees but not the forest” (只见树木、不见森林), making it difficult to answer the fundamental question of how the Party could go from weak to strong, from setbacks to victory. Indulging solely in case studies while neglecting overall judgment is just like the ancients’ saying: “The eyesight is sharp enough to observe the tip of an autumn hair, but cannot see a cartload of firewood” (明足以察秋毫之末，而不见舆薪).
It is precisely against this background that the proposal of the correct view of Party history has clear pertinence. Toward historical nihilism, it requires clearing away the fog with a scientific attitude; toward fragmented research, it requires grasping the main line with a holistic perspective. In studying CPC history, one must adhere to the Party’s three historical resolutions (三个历史决议) as the basis; specific historical facts and details can be studied in depth. It is precisely in this kind of “freedom with boundaries” (有边界的自由) that Party history research can continue to deepen in the correct direction.
The Connotation and Essential Meaning of the Correct View of Party History
The correct view of Party history is not an isolated concept, but a theoretical system that is 相辅相成 (xiāng fǔ xiāng chéng - “mutually complement and complete,” to complement each other) and organically unified with the grand view of history (大历史观). Its main connotation can be grasped from four dimensions.
First, the perspective of the grand view of history. The so-called grand view of history is to examine historical events placed in a long-term, broad-field, and large-scale context, to explore laws and grasp general trends from the long river of history. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasizes, “Analyze the mechanisms of evolution and explore historical laws from the long river of history, the great tides of the era, and the global situation.” The key of the grand view of history lies not only in broadening the observational perspective of CPC history research, but also in placing CPC history in the interconnected historical process of China and the world for an overall grasp, requiring researchers to examine CPC history within the grand spatiotemporal framework of the history of Chinese civilization, the history of national rejuvenation, and the history of world socialism. The correct view of Party history is the concrete unfolding of the grand view of history in the field of CPC history research.
Second, the fundamental method of seeking truth from facts (实事求是). Seeking truth from facts is the essence of Marxism and the lifeline of Party history research. Marx wrote in the preface to the first volume of Capital: “My view is that the development of the economic formation of society is a process of natural history.” This methodology that regards historical development as an objective process is precisely the theoretical origin of the correct view of Party history. In Party history research, seeking truth from facts means respecting historical facts, being loyal to historical truth, neither exaggerating achievements nor evading mistakes, and striving to present the historical face comprehensively, objectively, and accurately.
Third, the value orientation of the people’s standpoint. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasizes, “The people are the creators of history and the fundamental force that determines the future and destiny of the Party and the country.” This important judgment runs the Marxist mass view of history through Party history research, requiring researchers always to examine history from the people’s standpoint and pay attention to the people’s principal position and creative role in the historical process. This is both an adherence to Marx and Engels’ thought that “history is the activity of the masses” and an academic manifestation of the fundamental purpose of the Communist Party of China.
Fourth, the deepening of understanding of historical laws. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasizes, “Historical development has its own laws, but human beings are not completely passive within them. As long as we grasp the laws and general trends of historical development, seize the opportunity of historical transformation, act in accordance with the trend, and strive vigorously, we can move forward better.” This important exposition recognizes the objectivity of historical laws while emphasizing human subjective initiative, embodying the Marxist thought of the dialectical unity of historical inevitability and contingency. It enlightens us that in Party history research, we must both reveal objective laws of historical development and pay attention to the choices and creations of historical subjects under specific historical conditions.
From the perspective of the development of Marxist historiography theory, the correct view of Party history is a creative application of historical materialism in the new era. Historical materialism emphasizes understanding history from social existence, but how to concretize this principle into an operational standard for Party history research has always been a problem requiring deepening. The correct view of Party history takes “theme and main line, mainstream and essence” (主题主线、主流本质) as its guiding principle, providing a concrete and clear analytical framework for Party history research. It must be emphasized that the correct view of Party history does not exclude academic debate. On the contrary, it encourages in-depth research on specific historical facts, processes, and mechanisms on the premise that major historical issues follow the resolutions, requiring “strengthening the basic work of data collection and collation, and as far as possible grasping first-hand materials,” to pursue academic depth in the correct direction and to respond to the issues of the era with solid documentary skill.
The Methodological Significance of the Correct View of Party History
Since the correct view of Party history was established, it has had a far-reaching impact on Party history research in the new era. At the methodological level, it has played a key role in at least two directions.
First, it provides directional guidance for deepening research. The combination of the correct view of Party history and the grand view of history has given rise to a series of landmark research results. The 100 Years of the Communist Party of China (《中国共产党的一百年》), compiled by the Institute of Party History and Literature of the CPC Central Committee, takes 1840 as the narrative starting point, linking the Party’s century-long struggle with the historical theme of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. It is the most comprehensive and systematic orthodox Party history work publicly published so far, covering the longest time span and the most systematic and complete content of the CPC’s history. In terms of the historical tracing of Chinese-style modernization, it systematically sorts out the historical thread from the Westernization Movement to the Hundred Days’ Reform, from the Xinhai Revolution to the May Fourth New Culture Movement, clearly revealing that the Party-led modernization exploration is rooted in the historical soil of modern China’s struggle for survival from national subjugation. In terms of the historical interpretation of the “second combination” (第二个结合), Party history research reveals from a historical dimension the natural genes of compatibility between Marxism and China’s excellent traditional culture in dimensions such as materialism, dialectics, people-oriented thought, and the ideal of great harmony.
Second, it provides a theoretical weapon for criticizing historical nihilism. The “grand view of history” and “seeking truth from facts” emphasized by the correct view of history are two sharp tools for cracking historical nihilism. Under this guidance, academia has continuously analyzed and forcefully refuted the trend of historical nihilism; a series of specialized studies have caused certain viewpoints to 不攻自破 (bù gōng zì pò - “without attack, it collapses,” to be refuted without effort). Relevant academic journals have also provided an important platform for scholars to confront erroneous historical views and dare to draw their swords. The correct view of history is not a dogma but a method; not a constraint but a direction. It gives researchers a fundamental standard for judging right and wrong when faced with 纷繁复杂 (fēn fán fù zá - “numerous and complicated,” complex) historical materials and 众说纷纭 (zhòng shuō fēn yún - “many opinions, diverse,” diverse opinions).
The methodological significance of the correct view of Party history is also reflected in its innovation of the Party history research paradigm. Traditional Party history research often focused on the narration of political history and military history, while paying insufficient attention to economic history, social history, cultural history, and other aspects. Under the guidance of the correct view of Party history, more and more scholars have begun to pay attention to the multiple dimensions of the Party’s history, emphasizing the examination of the Party’s history from perspectives such as social structure, people’s lives, and ideological culture. The comprehensive and pluralistic research paradigm is increasingly prominent, which not only enriches the content of Party history research but also broadens its horizons.
The Correct View of Party History and the Construction of an Independent Knowledge System of CPC History
In 2022, during his inspection of Renmin University of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed that “to accelerate the construction of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics, in the final analysis, is to construct China’s independent knowledge system.” Constructing an independent CPC history knowledge system means that Party history research should break free from the constraints of Western theoretical frameworks, refine concepts from China’s own historical experience, construct paradigms, and form discourse, so that research is truly rooted in the Chinese land and has a distinct subjectivity. The correct view of Party history has an irreplaceable guiding role in this process.
Tracing back the academic lineage, the exploration of China’s independent knowledge system did not begin today. The “two-process theory” (两个过程论) proposed by Mao Zedong in The Chinese Revolution and the Chinese Communist Party, with the dual perspective of class analysis and national liberation, accurately grasped the social nature, principal contradictions, and historical main line of modern China. It is the theoretical cornerstone of the revolutionary history paradigm in modern and contemporary Chinese history research and has significant pioneering significance. Mao Zedong emphasized: “When we study China, we must take China as the center; we must sit on China’s body to study the things of the world.” This is precisely the most fundamental stance of an independent knowledge system.
In 2022, the discipline of Party history and Party building (中共党史党建学) was formally established as a first-level discipline, a landmark institutional breakthrough. The establishment of a first-level discipline has fundamentally solved the long-standing dilemma of CPC history research being scattered across multiple disciplines such as political science, Marxist theory, and history, providing independent disciplinary affiliation and institutional support for research. Concepts and categories are the basic elements of a knowledge system; without one’s own concepts and categories, there can be no independent knowledge system. In recent years, using Chinese concepts to discuss Chinese matters, and using the language of the time to express the meaning of the time, has become a trend in academia.
Historical materials, as the foundation of historical research, are important support for constructing an independent knowledge system. General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out: “Place historical conclusions on the basis of accurate and detailed historical material support and in-depth and meticulous research and analysis.” Since the new era, Party history research has adhered to the principle of putting historical materials first, with both offline and online historical material resource construction making simultaneous progress. Offline, large-scale historical document series such as the Revival Library (《复兴文库》) have been published successively; online, database construction relying on modern information technology has achieved remarkable results, universally realizing convenient functions such as chapter search, full-text search, and knowledge point positioning, greatly lowering the threshold for consulting historical materials.
For more than a hundred years, the Communist Party of China’s cognition of its own history has undergone a process from spontaneity to consciousness, from singularity to plurality, and from the partial to the whole. The fundamental method running through it has always been seeking truth from facts. The “correctness” of the correct view of Party history is, in the final analysis, the “seeking truth” (求是) of seeking truth from facts (实事求是). Knowing why it came into being, one can understand its direction and where it is going; knowing how it reached this point, one can judge what it should do. This is the deepest significance of the correct view of Party history for CPC history research in the new era.
[The author is Director of the Teaching and Research Department of Culture and History at the Central Party School (National Academy of Governance).]
Return to TopBy: 夏志和
On June 1, 1936, at a historical juncture of national peril and the brewing of an all-out war of resistance by the entire nation, the Chinese People's Anti-Japanese Red Army University (红大) was founded in Wayaobao (瓦窑堡), northern Shaanxi. In January 1937, it moved its site to Yan'an and was renamed the Chinese People's Anti-Japanese Military and Political University (抗大). As the highest military academy led by the Chinese Communist Party during the War of Resistance against Japan, Mao Zedong personally served as chairman of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University Education Committee and personally formulated the educational policy of "firm and correct political direction, hard-working and simple work style, flexible and mobile strategy and tactics" and the school motto of "unity, tension, seriousness, and liveliness." During its ten years of operation, the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University cultivated over 100,000 military and political cadres 德才兼备 (dé cái jiān bèi - "have both moral integrity and professional competence"), laying a solid talent foundation for the victory of the War of Resistance against Japan and the War of Liberation, erecting an immortal monument in the history of China's revolution and military education, and forging and forming the glorious Anti-Japanese Military and Political University spirit. This spirit is a vivid manifestation of the great founding spirit of the Party in the practice of running the school during the War of Resistance, an important component of the revolutionary spirit of the People's Army, and a precious spiritual asset of our Party and our army. On the new journey of the new era, deeply summarizing the valuable school-running experience of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University, vigorously promoting the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University spirit, and inheriting and developing the fine traditions of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University will surely powerfully advance the high-quality development of military academy construction.
Loyal faith, iron-hearted alignment with the Party—revolutionary stance
From the day of its birth, the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University took loyalty to the Party and obedience to the Party's command as the foundation of its school, requiring students "first to learn a political direction," and using strong political work to ensure the completion of the task of training Party cadres, becoming a strong revolutionary bastion under the absolute leadership of the Party.
First, adhere to the Party's leadership as the fundamental principle of school operation and governance. The Anti-Japanese Military and Political University was founded and developed under the direct leadership of the CCP Central Committee and the Central Military Commission, resolutely implementing the Party's major policies of resisting Japan and saving the nation, resolutely executing the orders and directives of the CCP Central Committee and the Central Military Commission regarding school establishment and operation, vigorously consolidating and strengthening Party organization construction, never relaxing the work of "developing the Party, consolidating the Party," and establishing a strong and effective Party organization system, becoming a "bastion of national defense education in the national liberation war."
Second, adhere to ideological transformation as the primary task of personnel training. The Anti-Japanese Military and Political University insisted that "all work of the school is for the purpose of transforming students' thinking," took ideological and political education as the central link, systematically set up political courses such as Marxism-Leninism, fundamental issues of the Chinese revolution, and political work. Central leaders such as Mao Zedong, Zhu De, and Zhou Enlai often stepped onto the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University podium to lecture on political theory courses and deliver reports on situation and policy, using advanced thought and theory to arm students' minds, using Party policy to unify students' thinking, solving the fundamental political questions of "for whom to revolution, for whom to resist Japan, for whom to join the army," and focusing on cultivating students' firm political stance and political conviction.
Third, adhere to Party spirit tempering as the necessary path of political progress. The Anti-Japanese Military and Political University actively strengthened Party education, strictly implemented the inner-Party organizational life system, comprehensively carried out ideological rectification, used the weapon of criticism and self-criticism, deeply dug into the root problems of non-proletarian ideologies such as subjectivism, sectarianism, liberalism, and individualism, used the Huang Kegong case (黄克功案) to conduct Party spirit warning education for all staff, took obedience to organizational arrangements as a hard yardstick for testing Party spirit, and forged a strong Party spirit that obeys all Party calls. Mao Zedong figuratively said that the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University is like a whetstone that grinds away the petty-bourgeois consciousness—impulse, roughness, impatience, etc.—and turns oneself into a shiny sharp blade to defeat Japan and create a new society.
To inherit and promote the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University spirit, we must unswervingly use Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to solidify the soul, thoroughly implement Xi Jinping's thinking on strengthening the military, firmly establish the policy of political building of the military in the new era, regularly carry out political rectification training at a new starting point, resolutely and consciously uphold and implement the system of chairman of the Central Military Commission responsibility, resolutely shoulder the political responsibility of managing the Party and governing the Party, ensuring that all teaching activities, all scientific research activities, and all school-running activities implement the requirements of political military building.
Cultivating talents for the Party, forging generals for war—revolutionary responsibility
The Anti-Japanese Military and Political University was born for war and built for war, always focusing on the needs of revolutionary war to run the school and educate people, insisting on "learning war from war," integrating flexible and mobile strategy and tactics into the entire process of school operation, governance, general forging, and talent cultivation, shouldering the glorious mission of creating a large number of outstanding cadres for the national liberation war.
First, cultivate a patriotic sentiment of saving the nation from extinction. The Anti-Japanese Military and Political University always stood at the forefront of the national liberation cause, consciously took the rise and fall of the nation as its own responsibility, held high the banner of resisting Japan to the end, resolutely shouldered the mission of national salvation, used the firm belief in resisting Japan and saving the nation to build the school, manage education, and cultivate people, forging a large number of outstanding talents who were "braver, more arduous, better at linking theory with practice, contacting reality, solving practical problems, and also better at connecting with the masses," continuously supplying strong backbone forces for the revolutionary struggle. In 1938, Mao Zedong visited the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University and said to the young intellectual students: "You have come to Yan'an from thousands of miles away; the purpose is of course not to become officials and get rich, but to resist Japan and save the nation."
Second, construct a teaching model oriented to actual combat. The Anti-Japanese Military and Political University deeply cultivated the path of practical combat education, taking "learn skills well so as to go to the front line" as the fundamental purpose of teaching. Mao Zedong stressed when teaching the students of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University the course "Problems of Strategy in China's Revolutionary War": "Reading is learning, but applying is also learning, and a more important kind of learning. Learning war from war—this is our main method." The courses were simplified, highlighting military content such as guerrilla tactics, sabotage and reconnaissance, and analysis of enemy tactics against Japanese and puppet forces. They often organized marches, camping, and combat exercises, established a system for teachers to go to the front line for temporary duty, transformed frontline battle cases into vivid teaching materials, used anti-"mopping-up" and anti-reactionary operations as practical training classrooms, and opened up the three-in-one training paradigm of "classroom research, field training, and frontline experience."
Third, temper superb abilities to fight hard battles. The Anti-Japanese Military and Political University took root in the harsh struggle environment behind enemy lines, insisted on "learning in combat, fighting in learning," organized students to deeply participate in classic battles and operations such as the Hundred Regiments Offensive and the Daqingshan Breakout Battle, undertook tasks such as covering, blocking, and breaking out, strengthening the conviction of victory and honing the will and courage in the test of life and death, and tempered the ability to win battles.
To inherit and promote the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University spirit, we must deeply grasp the functional mission of serving to strengthen the country and strengthen the military, keep a close eye on changes in science and technology, changes in warfare, and changes in the adversary, insist on highlighting the cultivation of joint operations command talents, vigorously promote the trend of researching war, teaching war, and learning war, vigorously advance practical combat teaching reform, focus on building a teaching force that understands actual combat, promote the precise matching of the talent training supply side with the future battlefield demand side, and strive to forge a large number of backbone cadres capable of shouldering the heavy responsibility of strengthening the military.
Seeking truth from facts, being pragmatic and realistic—revolutionary character
The Anti-Japanese Military and Political University always based itself on the war situation of the Resistance and the realities behind enemy lines, insisted on taking the theory-practice integration consistently advocated by Mao Zedong as the most important school-running policy, resolutely broke the shackles of dogmatism and subjectivism, and tempered and formed the revolutionary character of seeking truth from facts and being pragmatic and realistic in the harsh practice of running the school, becoming the distinct core of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University spirit.
First, adhere to the school-running approach of adapting to circumstances. The Anti-Japanese Military and Political University closely followed the war situation of the Resistance and the actual conditions of base area construction, complied with the deployments of the Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission, moved the school in batches or set up branch schools as the war situation advanced or retreated, dynamically adjusted the focus of talent training according to the changes in the situation and tasks of different stages of the War of Resistance, ensuring that school operation adjusted with the war situation and talent cultivation changed to meet the battlefield. After the War of Resistance entered the strategic stalemate stage, in order to adapt to the new situation of guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines, the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University successively established more than ten branch schools, absorbing patriotic youth from behind enemy lines nearby, quickly training a large number of military and political backbone forces, effectively supporting the protracted war and base area construction.
Second, adhere to the academic principle of unity of knowledge and action. From the very beginning, the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University closely integrated courses in politics, military affairs, and culture with frontline struggle and base area construction, insisted on the principles of "theory integration with practice" and "education combined with productive labor," insisted on "learning while producing," forming an academic trait of applying what is learned. In the Hundred Regiments Offensive, students of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University organized six observation groups to participate in the battle, learned about the progress of the campaign at various command organs, and student groups also assisted the troops in summarizing campaign experiences and lessons, compiling battle case collections as military teaching materials for the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University.
Third, adhere to a flexible and mobile training model. The Anti-Japanese Military and Political University recruited students regardless of party affiliation or belief, putting resistance against Japan above all else, 海纳百川 (hǎi nà bǎi chuān - "the sea accepts a hundred rivers," to be inclusive of diverse things) in gathering thousands of patriots and progressive youth. It taught students at different levels according to their different backgrounds and educational levels, often adopting research-based and experimental teaching methods among students with higher education levels and richer experience. The Anti-Japanese Military and Political University also implemented the concept of "learning in combat, fighting in learning," not forgetting teaching during marches and battles, quickly adjusting the teaching pace when encountering enemy situations, promoting unique teaching methods such as "small sentry lessons" and "march-style teaching," using combat against the enemy as a training ground to test learning effectiveness.
To inherit and promote the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University spirit, we must adhere to emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts, firmly establish and practice a correct view of performance, deeply research and explore the laws of running schools and educating people in the new era, resolutely break the practices of seeking quick success and instant benefits, reckless blind action, and extensive development, resolutely rectify the cultivation of combat talents with a non-combat mentality, clearly establish a guidance of seeking truth and being pragmatic and grasping implementation solidly, be good at achieving results and seeing things through from start to finish, and continuously consolidate the foundation of academy construction and development.
Hard struggle, tenacious struggle—revolutionary resilience
Back then, the teachers and students of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University were not afraid of hardships, relied on themselves, ran the school in difficult conditions, grew up in severe struggles, and tempered the revolutionary resilience of hard struggle and tenacious struggle. This is the spiritual code for the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University to develop in adversity and grow in struggle.
First, adhere to not waiting or relying, becoming more determined the harder it gets. The operation of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University can be called a miracle in the history of human education. Facing material conditions with no teachers, no school buildings, no teaching materials, and no funds, the vast number of teachers and students took "hard struggle" as the only way out. Everyone pitched in to reclaim wasteland, dig caves, build school buildings themselves, reclaim land, grow grain, and achieve self-sufficiency, using production labor to make up for the shortcomings in school operation conditions, taking the initiative to solve the problem of resource scarcity, highlighting the enterprising spirit of not relying on external forces and self-reliance. Snow marveled in Red Star Over China, "Using cave dwellings as classrooms, stones and bricks as desks and chairs, walls made of lime and mud as blackboards, this kind of 'higher education institution' whose school buildings are completely unafraid of bombing—probably there is only this one in the whole world."
Second, adhere to taking hardship as joy, becoming more vigorous the more difficult it gets. The teachers and students of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University long lived in stone caves, slept on stone beds, used Malan paper, ate millet, yet they looked down on material hardship and held onto spiritual abundance, calling coarse grain meals "Nationalist-Communist cooperation rice," referring to scorched rice as "Marxist-Leninist biscuits," described as "Stone Age life, learning advanced theory," always maintaining high morale and vigorous learning enthusiasm, full of revolutionary optimism and soaring conviction to save the country and the people.
Third, adhere to not fearing a strong enemy, becoming stronger the more one fights. The Anti-Japanese Military and Political University was always at the forefront of the anti-enemy struggle. Facing the frenzied "mopping-up" of the Japanese army and the blockade and suppression of the Kuomintang, teachers and students were not afraid, holding a pen in one hand and a gun in the other, learning and fighting at the same time, using every means to seek opportunities in danger and turn crises into opportunities, forming a situation of "the more it resisted, the bigger it became," forging a backbone of "the more it resisted, the braver it became," and growing into the vanguard of the Resistance.
To inherit and promote the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University spirit, we must face directly the prominent contradictions and risk tests that restrict high-quality development, meet difficulties head-on and tackle tough problems, resolutely discard the mindset of conservatism and the attitude of lying flat, resolutely break path dependence and fixed models, adhere to thrifty school operation and hard struggle, adhere to daring to try and daring to be the first, rely on tenacious struggle to open up new horizons for the cause, and vigorously promote the improvement of quality and efficiency in academy construction.
Strict discipline, eradicating malpractices and creating new things—revolutionary work style
The Anti-Japanese Military and Political University was known for its strictness, adhering to the "eight-character" school motto as its guide, always strictly observing political discipline, military discipline, and life discipline, forming a new revolutionary school style through arduous tempering, becoming a distinct symbol of the revolutionary and progressive nature of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University, providing a strong guarantee for the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University to temper revolutionary talents and support the revolutionary cause.
First, adhere to unity between superiors and subordinates, equality between officers and men. The Anti-Japanese Military and Political University completely abandoned the strict hierarchical practices of the old army. All teaching and administrative staff, regardless of their rank, had to strictly implement various rules and regulations. The school leaders had a democratic style and did not seek special treatment; the leading organs set an example, the teachers set a model, and from top to bottom they strictly practiced the new type of internal relations norms of the People's Army, forming an internal atmosphere of "unity, fraternity, harmony, and purity."
Second, adhere to strictness on a regular basis and firmly grasp habit formation. The Anti-Japanese Military and Political University insisted on starting with strict military life, creating a special classroom for management education, assembling and exercising on time every day, standardizing internal affairs setup, strictly maintaining classroom order, and requiring field marches, tactical training, and land reclamation production to be the same as front-line troops, using day-to-day accumulation of habits to cultivate a serious and intense combat style.
Third, adhere to strict discipline, 令行禁止 (lìng xíng jìn zhǐ - "act on orders and stop on prohibition," to strictly obey orders and prohibitions). The Anti-Japanese Military and Political University took strict discipline as a consistent yardstick for governance, built a comprehensive discipline system in politics, military, and life, required all actions to obey command, adhered to the principle that everyone is equal before discipline, and dealt seriously with anyone who violated discipline, never offsetting merits against faults or condoning them, tempering a strong work style of acting on orders and stopping on prohibition and strict discipline in harsh conditions, maintaining normal order even under extremely dispersed and mobile school-running conditions.
Fourth, adhere to sweeping away the haze and establishing a new atmosphere. The Anti-Japanese Military and Political University always used rectification and training to correct the school style, resolutely fought against all kinds of unhealthy tendencies and erroneous thinking, and aimed at problems such as hedonism, bureaucratic habits, laxity, vanity, and impetuosity. It insisted on advancing ideological guidance and style rectification simultaneously. On the one hand, it combined the war situation with revolutionary ideals; on the other hand, it corrected unhealthy tendencies through strict Party spirit education and rectification movements, creating a pure and refreshing revolutionary education bastion.
To inherit and promote the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University spirit, we must adhere to strict governance of the school according to law, firmly establish a tone and orientation that the stricter it becomes the further it goes and the stricter it becomes the higher it goes, always put discipline, rules, and systems in the forefront, increase the intensity of strict governance in teaching, learning, research, and examination, promote continuous improvement of the school and academic atmosphere, create a clean and upright political ecosystem, and greet the centenary of the People's Army with a new political appearance.
(The author is a Lieutenant General political commissar of the National Defense University.)
By: 沈树凤
The South-to-North Water Diversion Project (南水北调工程), as the largest in scale, longest in duration, and most populous in benefiting water diversion project in world water conservancy history and in the history of New China's construction, was described by General Secretary Xi Jinping as "equivalent in magnitude to the Three Gorges Project." From October 1952 when Mao Zedong put forward the grand vision, to the winter of 2014 when the central route project's "one stretch of clear water moistens Beijing and Tianjin" dream came true, a history of the decision-making, planning, and construction of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project has left countless 感天动地 (gǎn tiān dòng dì - "move heaven and earth," extremely touching) and 可歌可泣 (kě gē kě qì - "worthy of songs and tears," inspiring and moving) Chinese stories, manifesting the Chinese Communist Party's sentiment of putting the people first, and will surely erect a monument "inscribed in the annals for a thousand autumns" in water conservancy history.
Can We Borrow Some Water from the South to Give to the North
Since ancient times, China's water regime has been summer floods and winter dry spells, with deficiency in the north and abundance in the south. 81% of the country's water resources are concentrated in the Yangtze River and its southern areas, while the Huai River and its northern areas account for only 19% of the country's water resources. The Yellow River-Huai River-Hai River basin, as an important population and economic dense area in China, accounts for only 7.2% of the country's total water resources, causing severe impacts on the economy, society, and people's lives. Solving the water shortage problem in northern China has always been a "major matter of the state" (国之大者) in the hearts of the Party and state leaders after the founding of New China.
He who is good at governing the state must first be good at managing water. After the founding of New China, Mao Zedong attached great importance to water conservancy work, repeatedly gave instructions on managing the Huai River, and personally planned and inspected the management of the Yellow River. In October 1952, Mao Zedong inspected the Yellow River; after listening to the report from Wang Huayun (王化云), director of the Yellow River Water Conservancy Commission, on the vision of diverting the Yangtze to replenish the Yellow River, he said, "There is much water in the south, little water in the north; if possible, borrowing a little is permissible." Thus the idea of borrowing water was first proposed. In February 1953, Mao Zedong went south to inspect the Yangtze River; one of his purposes was to further explore borrowing water from the Yangtze to solve the water shortage problem in the north. On February 19, while listening to a report on Yangtze River management during his inspection of the Yangtze River, Mao Zedong again asked Lin Yishan (林一山), director of the Yangtze River Water Conservancy Commission, whether water could be borrowed from the south to give to the north, since there is much water in the south and little in the north. He also used a pencil to point at Lazikou (腊子口), Bailong River (白龙江), and Western Han River (西汉水) on the map, and finally pointed to the Han River and Danjiangkou (丹江口), asking about the possibility of water diversion at each place, and at the same time instructed that further research on the Han River water diversion plan be conducted and personnel be organized for further surveys. On February 22, Lin Yishan reported to Mao Zedong on the preliminary vision for Yangtze River flood control. When parting, Mao Zedong said to Lin Yishan that the Three Gorges issue should temporarily not be considered for construction, but the work on the South-to-North Water Diversion should be pressed ahead.
To further implement Mao Zedong's vision, in February 1958, Zhou Enlai, Li Fuchun (李富春), and Li Xiannian (李先念) inspected the Three Gorges of the Yangtze and listened to a report on water conservancy projects, and immediately expressed support for the Danjiangkou project. At the enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee held in Chengdu on March 25 of the same year, Zhou Enlai, based on Mao Zedong's concept of South-to-North Water Diversion and the plans of experts, reported to the meeting on the inspection of the Yangtze River basin and the Three Gorges Project, and formally proposed the construction of the Danjiangkou Water Control Project (丹江口水利枢纽工程). The meeting deliberated and adopted the "Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the Three Gorges Water Control Project and Yangtze River Basin Planning" (中共中央关于三峡水利枢纽和长江流域规划的意见), clearly proposed the plan to divert the Yangtze to replenish the Yellow River, and at the same time decided to construct the initial phase of the Danjiangkou Water Control Project, i.e., building a dam at Danjiangkou to divert water and channel the Han River northward, first the Han River then the Yangtze River. Mao Zedong also envisioned: "Open up the Tongtian River (通天河) and the Bailong River, borrow the Yangtze's water to replenish the Yellow River, divert the Han from Danjiangkou to replenish the Yellow River, divert the Yellow River to replenish the Wei River, and connect with Beijing."
In August of the same year, the enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee held in Beidaihe adopted and issued the "Central Committee of the Communist Party of China Directive on Water Conservancy Work" (中共中央关于水利工作的指示), which clearly stated: "The longer-term water conservancy plan at the national level is first and foremost a plan with the main purpose of transferring water from the south (mainly the Yangtze River system) to the north, to connect the Yangtze, Huai, Yellow, Han, and Hai River basins into a unified water conservancy system." This was the first time the term "South-to-North Water Diversion" (南水北调) appeared in an official central document, and it also marked the elevation of the South-to-North Water Diversion from the Yangtze from a leader's vision to a collective decision of the Party and state.
The South-to-North Water Diversion Plan Advances Step by Step
To find a scientific basis for this grand project, in the three years from 1958 to 1960, the central government convened four national South-to-North Water Diversion conferences, formulated a South-to-North Water Diversion work plan for 1960 to 1963, and proposed the goal of completing a preliminary planning key points report for the South-to-North Water Diversion within three years. On September 1, 1958, the Danjiangkou Water Control Project dam began construction at the border of Hubei and Henan provinces. Thus, the Danjiangkou Reservoir historically became the water source of the South-to-North Water Diversion middle route project and the foundational project for middle route water diversion. In 1974, the initial phase of the Danjiangkou Reservoir was fully completed. During the Three Years of Difficult Period and the "Cultural Revolution," although local work such as the construction of Danjiangkou Reservoir and the Nanyang Deng County water diversion from the Dan River (引丹工程) was still ongoing, overall the exploration, design, and demonstration work of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project was forced to be shelved.
After reform and opening up, China's economy and society developed rapidly, comprehensive national strength continuously increased, and the level of modern water conservancy science and technology increasingly improved. Faced with the increasingly severe water resource shortage in the northern region, the Party Central Committee and the State Council, with historical foresight and from an overall and strategic perspective, continued to plan and demonstrate the South-to-North Water Diversion Project. The "Government Work Report" adopted at the First Session of the Fifth National People's Congress held from February 26 to March 5, 1978, formally proposed "building the South-to-North Water Diversion Project that channels water from the Yangtze River to areas north of the Yellow River." To strengthen the coordination and promotion of the South-to-North Water Diversion, in December 1979, the Ministry of Water Resources and Electric Power formally established its subordinate South-to-North Water Diversion Planning Office to comprehensively lead and coordinate the national South-to-North Water Diversion work.
In 1980 and 1981, the Hai River basin experienced severe drought for two consecutive years. Party and state leaders paid close attention to the scientific planning work of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project. The State Council decided to temporarily divert the Yellow River to replenish Tianjin (引黄济津) and accelerated the construction of the diversion from the Luan River to Tianjin project (引滦入津工程), while planning to implement the South-to-North Water Diversion during the "Sixth Five-Year Plan" period. Planning and research on the east, central, and west routes also began in rapid succession. After multiple surveys and repeated discussions, experts considered the central and east routes of the South-to-North Water Diversion technically feasible.
In July 1987, the State Planning Commission (国家计委) formally issued a notice deciding to include the west route of the South-to-North Water Diversion as a "Seventh Five-Year Plan" pre-project item. In the "Outline of the Ten-Year Program for National Economic and Social Development and the Eighth Five-Year Plan of the People's Republic of China" (中华人民共和国国民经济和社会发展十年规划和第八个五年计划纲要) issued in 1991, it also clearly stated that during the "Eighth Five-Year Plan" period, "construction of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project should begin." In October 1992, the Fourteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China listed the "South-to-North Water Diversion" as one of China's cross-century backbone projects. On June 6, 1995, Li Peng chaired a State Council Premier's Office meeting, specifically studying the South-to-North Water Diversion issue, proposing that the South-to-North Water Diversion plan should balance water use demands, investment returns, and affordability, and change the Danjiangkou Reservoir from prioritizing power generation and flood control to prioritizing water supply and flood control. The meeting decided to establish the South-to-North Water Diversion Project Demonstration Committee; the demonstration report produced would first be collectively reviewed by the State Planning Commission and then reported to the State Council, marking the entry of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project into the substantive demonstration and design stage. Based on decades of research, demonstration, and review, on August 23, 2002, the State Council Premier's Office meeting specifically listened to a report from the Ministry of Water Resources on the "South-to-North Water Diversion Project Master Plan" (南水北调工程总体规划), deliberated and approved in principle the "South-to-North Water Diversion Project Master Plan," agreed to establish the State Council South-to-North Water Diversion Project Construction Leading Group (later renamed the State Council South-to-North Water Diversion Project Construction Committee), and set the overall layout of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project as three routes—east, central, and west—diverting water from the upper, middle, and lower reaches of the Yangtze River basin respectively. The east route project draws water from the lower reaches of the Yangtze at Yangzhou and uses the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal to send water northward; the west route project builds dams and reservoirs in the upper reaches of the Yangtze and drills tunnels to divert Yangtze water into the upper reaches of the Yellow River; the central route project diverts water from the Taocha head gate (陶岔渠首) of the Danjiangkou Reservoir, passes through the Yellow River by gravity flow to reach Beijing and Tianjin. In October of the same year, the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee held a meeting, deliberated and approved the "South-to-North Water Diversion Project Master Plan." In early December, the plan received formal approval from the State Council. On December 27, the first phase of the east route of the South-to-North Water Diversion was officially started, and construction of the central route also entered a substantive promotion stage.
Ensuring "One Stretch of Clear Water Flows Northward Forever"
In early 2005, the head gate hub project of the main diversion canal located at Taocha, Xichuan County, Nanyang City, Henan Province, began construction, marking the full-scale launch of the South-to-North Water Diversion central route project. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has conducted multiple field inspections, emphasizing that "from the political height of guarding the lifeline, we must effectively safeguard the safety of the South-to-North Water Diversion project, water supply safety, and water quality safety," and "strengthen the protection of the water source area of the South-to-North Water Diversion central route project to ensure 'one stretch of clear water flows northward forever.'" On December 12, 2014, the first phase of the South-to-North Water Diversion central route opened its gates to deliver water. As of May 2026, the central route project has cumulatively diverted over 88 billion cubic meters of water to the north, with a direct beneficiary population exceeding 195 million people.
From the establishment of water governance strategies at the outset of the founding of New China, to the cross-century promotion of the South-to-North Water Diversion planning, construction, and operation, the water governance journey of more than 70 years has witnessed the entire process of the Party Central Committee after the founding of New China establishing the Party for the public, benefiting the people, making prudent and scientific decisions, and truly working hard to continuously advance and implement. Looking back on the decision-making and construction process of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, we see a clear thread from grand vision to national strategy, from local exploration to systematic planning, from difficult implementation to brilliant achievements. The South-to-North Water Diversion, which General Secretary Xi Jinping has called a major matter of the state, a "project of the century, a project of the people's hearts," has not only brought permanent well-being to hundreds of millions of people but also provided profound insights for Chinese-style modernization. This process took more than half a century and condensed the wisdom and hard work of several generations; this process transcended the limitations of departments, regions, and generations, embodying the unique advantage of the socialist system in concentrating efforts to accomplish major tasks. Foreign peer experts generally believe that the South-to-North Water Diversion Project is "a great feat that only China can accomplish" and "has important significance for China in achieving its water security goals."
Return to TopBy: 孙照红
On January 8, 2020, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out in his speech at the conclusion meeting of the thematic education on "Never forget the founding mission and keep the mission firmly in mind (不忘初心、牢记使命)": "The entire Party must strengthen its awareness of institutions, consciously respect institutions, strictly implement institutions, resolutely uphold institutions, improve authoritative and efficient institutional implementation mechanisms, strengthen oversight of institutional implementation, promote the implementation and landing of the institutions for never forgetting the founding mission and keeping the mission firmly in mind, and resolutely put an end to the phenomena of making choices, engaging in flexible adaptations, and applying discounts, preventing rigid constraints from turning into 'rubber bands' and 'long-term effectiveness' from becoming 'ineffectiveness'."
A "rubber band" is originally a daily item with elastic stretching properties; its typical characteristic is that it can be tight or loose, wide or narrow. General Secretary Xi Jinping used "rubber band" as a metaphor for the chaotic phenomenon of institutional implementation, precisely revealing the deep harm of institutional implementation becoming too lenient, too loose, and too soft, sounding the alarm for consolidating the responsibility for institutional implementation and defending the rigid authority of institutions.
Institutions are rigid constraints that govern the fundamentals and long-term, and are the foundational safeguard for advancing comprehensive and strict Party governance and regulating the exercise of public power. The core vitality of institutional norms lies in their rigid attribute of not allowing arbitrary adaptation or subjective choice. Once institutional texts are promulgated and implemented, their implementation standards, discretionary boundaries, and landing scales possess unified binding force, and must never allow arbitrary adjustment or subjective adaptation by individuals. However, in reality, phenomena of orders not being followed and prohibitions not being stopped occur from time to time; the problem of implementing what is agreeable and bypassing what is disagreeable persists despite repeated bans. Over time, the originally authoritative and rigid institutional norms gradually degenerate into "rubber bands" that can be freely stretched and manipulated.
Once institutions degenerate into "rubber bands" that can be tight or loose, they easily induce the "broken windows effect." If undesirable phenomena or minor damages in the environment are not stopped or repaired in time, they convey a signal of "toleration," thereby inducing more similar undesirable behaviors. Similarly, if an elastic loophole in the institutional implementation process is left unchecked, various behaviors that circumvent constraints and violate boundaries will compete to imitate and spread continuously. If some entities exploit rule loopholes, play "edge ball" with policies, and use flexible adaptations to evade institutional control without facing timely and serious accountability and punishment, it easily breeds a widespread institutional mentality of taking chances. If violations are consistently dealt with elastically and leniently, the rigid binding force inherent in institutions will continue to weaken; the ideological foundation of Party members and cadres for abiding by rules and discipline will loosen accordingly, and it will also generate deep-seated formalistic and bureaucratism ills such as implementing documents with documents and implementing institutions with meetings.
The chaotic phenomenon of institutional implementation degenerating into "rubber bands" is a governance chronic disease formed by the stacking of subjective and objective factors. On the subjective level, some Party members and cadres have weak institutional awareness and lack a sense of reverence, failing to deeply understand the fundamental and authoritative role of institutions in governing the Party. Coupled with the influence of privilege mentality and departmental egoism, a few cadres prioritize personal relationships and private interests over institutional norms when performing duties and handling affairs, arbitrarily adjusting the implementation scale according to their own interests and local demands, resulting in inconsistent tightness and differing standards in institutional landing. On the objective level, some institutional designs are not yet meticulous enough; some institutions are divorced from the reality of grassroots governance, lacking practical operability and sufficient adaptability. At the same time, some units apply lenient and soft accountability for issues such as selective implementation, discounted promotion, and flexible execution; using verbal reminders and mild talk instead of serious accountability results in low cost of violations and weak deterrence, making it difficult to form rigid constraints.
To cure the "rubber band" problem and hold the bottom line of institutional rigidity, it is necessary to build a full-chain governance system encompassing ideology, institutions, oversight, and accountability. First, we must strengthen ideological tempering, regularize education on Party rules and discipline, guide Party members and cadres to firmly establish institutional thinking, revere the bottom line of rules, and eradicate from the root the cognitive deviation of flexible implementation. Second, we must tighten the institutional cage, focusing on key areas such as concentrated power, intensive funds, and abundant resources; refine supporting rules, clarify implementation standards, and delineate power and responsibility boundaries, compressing the space for flexible adaptation at the source. Third, we must strengthen rigid implementation and strict accountability, unify implementation scales, eliminate inconsistencies between upper and lower levels and between internal and external standards, leave no hidden doors, open no skylights, and resolutely confront and strictly hold accountable all behavior that evades institutions, implements flexibly, and perfunctorily copes.
General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "If responsibilities are not clarified, not implemented, and not investigated, strict Party governance cannot be achieved." Xi Jinping's thought on Party building, the "Fourteen Perseverances" (十四个坚持), concludes with "Perseverance in implementing the political responsibility for governing and managing the Party," the core essence being to firmly grasp the "ox nose" of comprehensive and strict Party governance, ensuring that governing and managing the Party truly becomes strict, tight, and solid. On the new journey, we must firmly establish a responsibility orientation for strictly governing and managing the Party, apply strict standards and strict measures throughout the entire process and all areas of governing and managing the Party, and continuously tighten the responsibility chain of institutional implementation. Leading cadres at all levels, as the "key minority," must actively shoulder the main responsibility for governing and managing the Party, lead by example, set the tone, and through their own concrete actions of strictly observing rules and exercising power in accordance with regulations, form demonstration and driving force, guiding all Party members and cadres to revere institutions, adhere to norms, continuously cultivate a political atmosphere of strictness and practicality, and firmly establish a clear, upright, and strict inner-Party atmosphere.
Return to TopBy: 韩强
Establish and Practice a Correct View of Performance is an important instruction made by General Secretary Xi Jinping on February 5, 2026, regarding the initiation within the entire Party of study and education on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance. It is included in Volume 2 of the Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Party Building. This important document scientifically answers the questions of why the entire Party should carry out study and education on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance, what kind of study and education on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance to carry out, and how to carry out study and education on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance. It provides the basic follow-up guidance for the study and education, and is also an important component of Xi Jinping's thought on Party building.
Why carry out study and education on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, our Party has already carried out eight rounds of centralized study and education, and the study and education on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance is the ninth. Why does our Party carry out this study and education in a centralized manner? This is a question that must first be answered to the entire Party. General Secretary Xi Jinping gave a clear answer in this important document.
First, there are still some problems in the view of performance. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that establishing and practicing a correct view of performance has been talked about for many years, grasped for many years, and some results have been achieved, but judging from the situation of inspections, supervision, and case handling, there are still many prominent problems in the view of performance. The higher the leadership position, the greater the harm caused by problems in the view of performance, and long-term continuous attention is needed. Deviations and misplacements in the view of performance will waste resources, promote formalism, breed unhealthy tendencies and corruption, ultimately harming the people and wasting resources, damaging the relationship between the Party and the masses and between cadres and the masses, and affecting the image of leading bodies and leading cadres in the hearts of the people. If allowed to develop unchecked, it will shake the Party's ruling foundation, and the harm is very serious.
Second, there is an important node for establishing and practicing a correct view of performance. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that this year is the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, and local leading bodies at all levels will undergo successive changes in leadership terms. Promoting leading bodies and leading cadres at all levels to establish and practice a correct view of performance through study and education is very important and very necessary.
Third, it is necessary to fulfill the Party's historical mission. Our Party is a Party that establishes itself for the public and governs for the people, a Party that serves the people wholeheartedly. Only by continuously promoting the development of the Party and the country's cause and benefiting the people with good performance can we effectively practice the Party's purpose and complete the Party's historical mission. To fully, accurately, and comprehensively implement the new development concept and strive to promote high-quality development, it is impossible without a correct view of performance. Therefore, the entire Party must correctly understand the importance of establishing and practicing a correct view of performance for the development of the Party and the country's cause, and enhance ideological and action consciousness in establishing and practicing a correct view of performance.
In this important document, General Secretary Xi Jinping fundamentally answered the question of why to carry out study and education on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance, resolved the thoughts and doubts of Party members and cadres, helped unify the ideological understanding of the entire Party, and thus laid a solid ideological foundation for deeply carrying out the study and education on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance.
What kind of study and education on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance to carry out
In establishing and practicing a correct view of performance, education plays a leading role. Only when the entire Party forms a unified understanding of what kind of correct view of performance to establish can the study and education truly be carried out and achieve practical results, and the practice of a correct view of performance can truly be implemented.
General Secretary Xi Jinping clearly pointed out the goals of the study and education in this important document, emphasizing the need to closely follow the implementation of the general requirement of establishing the Party for the public, benefiting the people, making scientific decisions, and truly grasping and doing solid work, and to integratively advance study, examination, and rectification, thoroughly investigate and accurately identify problems, and carry out rectification precisely and pragmatically. The general requirement of "establishing the Party for the public, benefiting the people, making scientific decisions, and truly grasping and doing solid work" provides goal guidance for the study and education on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance. In this regard, the "Notice on Carrying Out Study and Education on Establishing and Practicing a Correct View of Performance within the Entire Party" issued by the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China made further requirements, emphasizing that the study and education should take the integrated advancement of study, examination, and rectification as the starting point, educate and guide Party organizations, Party members, and cadres at all levels to adhere to seeking truth from facts and being pragmatic, produce performance for the people, produce performance through solid work, effectively prevent and correct deviations in the view of performance, resolutely and forcefully implement the major decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee, fully, accurately, and comprehensively implement the new development concept, accelerate the construction of a new development pattern, strive to promote high-quality development, create real achievements that withstand the test of practice, the people, and history, ensure a good start and a solid beginning for the 15th Five-Year Plan, and provide a strong guarantee for comprehensively advancing the construction of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese-style modernization. These work requirements centrally embody the essence and core meaning of the general requirement of "establishing the Party for the public, benefiting the people, making scientific decisions, and truly grasping and doing solid work." Among them, establishing the Party for the public indicates the Party's advanced nature and is the fundamental requirement of the Party's nature and purpose; benefiting the people demonstrates that our performance is meant to benefit the people and satisfy the people; making scientific decisions means respecting laws, seeking truth and being pragmatic, and focusing on investigation and research; truly grasping and doing solid work means earnestly fulfilling duties and responsibilities, producing tangible performance, and avoiding formalism. This general requirement integrates Party spirit, stance, style, and ability, making the study and education not only consistent and integrated, but also unique in characteristics and demonstrating effectiveness.
Carrying out study and education on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance means centering on the general requirement, through study and education, guiding the vast number of Party members and cadres to adhere to a clear people-oriented stance, establish correct value orientation, form a distinct pragmatic work style, improve the ability to do work and create achievements, and create real performance in solving development difficulties and enhancing people's wellbeing.
How to carry out study and education on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance
How to carry out study and education on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance is a matter of general concern to the entire Party. On the basis of existing centralized study and education, how to both emphasize practical results and avoid formalism is an important test. In this regard, General Secretary Xi Jinping placed key emphasis on raising ideological understanding, rectifying prominent problems, and establishing sound institutional rules, reflecting an accurate grasp of the key and difficult points of this centralized study and education, also reflecting the experience of previous centralized study and education, and is of great significance to the conduct of the study and education.
Raise ideological understanding. Comrades of the entire Party, especially leading cadres at all levels, must deeply understand the importance of the view of performance for the development of the Party and the country's cause, both theoretically and practically, and especially, by comparing positive and negative typical cases, deeply absorb lessons and experiences, and enhance Party consciousness and awareness. Positive typical cases should be accurately identified, withstand scrutiny, and publicity should be strengthened without deliberate packaging. Negative typical cases should be distinguished by different levels and categories, the existing problems and manifestations should be sorted out, and analysis should be conducted in a targeted manner to truly play a warning role. With an attitude of high responsibility to the Party and the people, we must enhance the ideological and action consciousness of establishing and practicing a correct view of performance.
Rectify prominent problems. Adhering to a problem-oriented approach is an important part of the world outlook and methodology of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and is also a basic method for doing all work well. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that study and education must adhere to a problem-oriented approach. When rectifying prominent problems, we must adhere to seeking truth from facts: whatever the problem is, solve that problem; however many problems there are, solve that many problems; whatever method should be used to solve the problem, use that method. We cannot make vague demands or treat all problems alike. A list of problems should be drawn up, benchmarks should be aligned, precise depictions should be made, problems that can be rectified should be rectified immediately, and rectification should be carried out forthwith. For problems formed over history that are difficult to solve completely in a short time, practical and feasible plans and solutions should be formulated, tracked persistently, and rectified with unremitting effort until complete.
Establish sound institutional rules. Establishing and practicing a correct view of performance must be grounded in institutions. Similarly, the study and education on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance must also focus on using institutions to ensure long-term, sustained efforts. To this end, establishing sound institutional rules is a fundamental prerequisite. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that the problem of the view of performance is highly correlated with the arbitrary and abusive exercise of power, and power must be confined within the cage of institutions. From the problems investigated and rectified in this study and education, institutional loopholes, shortcomings, and weaknesses must be identified, and the institutional rules must be effectively supplemented and established, making it completely clear what can be done, what cannot be done, for whom to do it, and how it should be done, and supporting accountability measures must be improved to make institutions robust and fully play their guiding, incentivizing, regulating, and constraining roles. He also pointed out the relevant institutions that need to be improved, including strictly implementing democratic centralism, improving the rules and procedures for deliberation and decision-making of leading bodies; strengthening supervision over "first-in-charge" cadres; improving the performance evaluation and assessment system; and so on.
This important document provides the basic follow-up guidance for the entire Party to smoothly carry out the study and education on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance. It is embodied in the general requirement of the study and education — "establishing the Party for the public, benefiting the people, making scientific decisions, and truly grasping and doing solid work," also embodied in the work arrangements such as study and discussion, problem investigation, rectification and remediation, establishment of rules and systems, and open education, and also embodied in the problem-oriented and institution-oriented approach adhered to in the study and education. It has extremely important guiding significance and also holds enduring ideological value for guiding Party members and cadres to establish and practice a correct view of performance.
Return to TopBy: 最高人民法院党组书记、院长 张军
General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the celebration of the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, comprehensively reviewing and summarizing the glorious journey and great achievements made by the Communist Party of China uniting and leading the people of all ethnic groups across the country over the past 105 years, profoundly revealing the excellent qualities that have enabled our Party to continuously create brilliance, putting forward the clear requirements of the five musts (五个必须) for all Chinese Communists on the new journey to strengthen confidence and continue the struggle, and issuing a great call to the entire Party and the people of all ethnic groups across the country to strive to create new historical brilliance. The people’s courts must earnestly study and implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech at the celebration of the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China and Xi Jinping’s thought on Party building, deeply comprehend the decisive significance of the two establishments (两个确立), resolutely achieve the two upholdings (两个维护), consciously use Xi Jinping’s thought on Party building to plan and promote the Party building of the people’s courts, closely focus on the Party’s mission and tasks in the new era and new journey to perform duties according to law, lead and promote the high-quality development of trial work in the new era with high-quality Party building, and provide strong judicial services and guarantees for comprehensively advancing the building of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation.
Profoundly understand that Party building is a magic weapon for establishing the Party and the country, and for rejuvenating the Party and strengthening the country
General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out, “Advancing Party building as a great project, and always adhering to the principle and policy of the Party governing itself and governing strictly, is a major innovation of our Party, and also a magic weapon for establishing the Party and the country, and for rejuvenating the Party and strengthening the country.” The history of our Party over the past 105 years is a struggle history of continuously strengthening self-construction and persistently promoting self-reform.
During the New Democratic Revolution period, the key to Party building was how to survive in a perilous environment and lead the revolution. At the beginning of the Party’s founding, the first Party Constitution initially established organizational rules and made specific provisions on Party discipline, which had great significance in the history of Party building. After the failure of the Autumn Harvest Uprising, the troops suffered heavy losses and urgently needed rectification. Through the Sanwan Reorganization (三湾改编), it was clarified that “the Party branch is established on the company level,” ensuring the absolute leadership of the Party over the army politically and organizationally. During the Yan’an period, our Party placed Party building at a strategic height related to the victory of the Chinese revolution. Mao Zedong proposed in 1939 the “great project” of Party building. In response to issues such as subjectivism, sectarianism, and Party stereotypes, our Party carried out the Yan’an Rectification Movement, achieving new unity and solidarity across the Party. The Seventh National Congress of the Party established Mao Zedong Thought as the guiding ideology of the Party and formulated the Party’s political line, bringing the entire Party to unprecedented unity and solidarity in thought, politics, and organization. Our Party also particularly emphasized strengthening discipline construction, stressing that the line is the “kingly way” (王道) and discipline is the “hegemonic way” (霸道). Ultimately, the “Yan’an style” defeated the “Xi’an style,” achieving victory in the New Democratic Revolution.
During the Socialist Revolution and Construction period, the focus of Party building shifted to adapting to the new requirements of governing the country nationwide. As early as when the Liberation War was about to achieve comprehensive victory and the Party was about to take power nationwide, Mao Zedong, with foresight, proposed the two musts (两个务必) to alert the entire Party. At the beginning of the founding of New China, in response to the complacency, pleasure-seeking mentality, and the styles of bureaucracy and commandism existing within the Party, the Party successively carried out rectification campaigns, Party rectification, and the Three-Anti Campaign (三反) across the Party, proposing to rectify “extremely serious phenomena such as undermining the prestige of the Party and the people’s government, causing dissatisfaction among the people, and even corruption, political degeneration, and law-breaking and discipline-violating,” ensuring the smooth implementation of the Party’s line, principles, and policies, and effectively consolidating the new regime.
During the new period of reform and opening up and socialist modernization, Party building entered a stage of institutional improvement and theoretical innovation. The Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Party re-established the ideological line of emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts, achieving a great turning point of far-reaching significance in the Party’s history since the founding of New China. Against the historical background of deepening reform and opening up, Deng Xiaoping proposed that the Party should be built into a strong core leading the entire people in the construction of socialist material civilization and spiritual civilization. The Fourth Plenary Session of the Fourteenth Central Committee of the Party proposed the “new great project” of Party building, further answering the era’s questions of what kind of Party to build and how to build the Party.
In the new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics, Party building focuses on improving the Party’s leadership level and long-term governance capacity, leading the governance of China with the governance of the Communist Party of China. Entering the new era, we are closer to, more confident in, and more capable of achieving the goal of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation than at any time in history, but we also face more complex and severe risks and challenges and more arduous development tasks. The Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, focusing on the major era’s question of what kind of long-term governing Marxist party to build and how to build a long-term governing Marxist party, has put forward a series of new concepts, new ideas, and new strategies, forming Xi Jinping’s thought on Party building. Consistently advancing the new great project of Party building in the new era, incorporating comprehensive and strict Party governance into the strategic layout of the Four Comprehensives (四个全面), providing the second answer to breaking out of the historical cycle of order and chaos, rise and fall — self-reform, and putting forward the general requirements for Party building in the new era. Taking political construction as the fundamental construction of the Party, always placing it first. Taking ideological construction as the basic construction of the Party, arming the entire Party with the Party’s innovative theories, continuously deepening centralized education within the Party, and stabilizing the helm of thought. Starting with the formulation and implementation of the Central Eight-Point Regulation (中央八项规定) to break the ice, continuously deepening the rectification of the Four Forms of Decadence (四风), and the Party style, government style, and social style have taken on a completely new look. Incorporating the strengthening of discipline construction into the overall layout of Party building, adhering to institutional governance of the Party and governance of the Party according to regulations, carrying out an unprecedented anti-corruption struggle, promoting comprehensive and strict Party governance in depth, and opening up a new realm of self-reform for a century-old major party.
Xi Jinping’s thought on Party building is the fundamental guideline for strengthening Party building in the new era
Xi Jinping’s thought on Party building is the inheritance and development of the historical experience of our Party’s own construction, the summary and condensation of the practical experience of comprehensive and strict Party governance in the new era, a major achievement of adhering to the two combinations (两个结合) to promote the Party’s theoretical innovation, and the fundamental guideline for strengthening Party building in the new era. The people’s courts must deeply comprehend and implement it in conjunction with trial work.
Always adhere to the Party’s absolute leadership over judicial work. The primary connotation of the “fourteen adherences” of Xi Jinping’s thought on Party building is that “adhering to the Party’s leadership is the most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics,” with special emphasis on the highest principle of the Party’s leadership being to adhere to the centralized and unified leadership of the Central Committee. From a historical perspective, whenever the entire Party firmly upholds the Party’s core and the authority of the Central Committee, the Party’s leadership is continuously strengthened, and the Party’s cause continuously achieves victory; conversely, the Party’s leadership will weaken, and the Party’s cause will suffer setbacks. As the national judicial organ under the leadership of the Party, the people’s courts are first and foremost political organs, and must always take upholding the authority of the Central Committee and centralized and unified leadership as the primary political responsibility, consciously integrating it into the entire process and all aspects of Party building, team building, and trial execution.
Always adhere to comprehensive and strict Party governance. “Adhering to comprehensive and strict Party governance” is the strategic policy for Party building in the new era. Whether it is “adhering to using strict discipline to govern the entire Party and all Party members,” “adhering to promoting the simultaneous advancement of not daring to be corrupt, not being able to be corrupt, and not wanting to be corrupt,” or “adhering to institutional governance of the Party and governance of the Party according to regulations,” “adhering to implementing the political responsibility of governing the Party and managing the Party,” all are closely linked to and implement this strategic policy. Looking back at history, our Party has always attached great importance to its own construction, being good at examining itself with the requirements of the times, alerting itself with a strong sense of urgency, and perfecting itself with the spirit of self-reform. The people’s courts hold the judicial power entrusted by the Party and the people, bearing the important functions of punishing crimes, protecting the people, settling disputes, and maintaining justice. There must be higher standards and stricter requirements for governing the Party and managing the courts, strictly strengthening discipline and style construction, strictly educating, managing, and supervising, effectively ensuring impartial justice and uprightness with strong Party spirit, and establishing judicial credibility and authority with fair and clean justice.
Always adhere to serving the overall situation and administering justice for the people. “Adhering to not forgetting the original intention and keeping the mission firmly in mind” fully demonstrates the purpose, stance, and value orientation of our Party. To whatever stage the Party’s and the country’s cause develops, the new great project of Party building must be advanced to that stage; wherever the people’s urgent concerns and difficulties lie, Party building must focus and exert efforts there. The people’s nature is the fundamental attribute of the people’s courts. Strengthening Party building must be closely linked to the Party’s nature, purpose, original intention, and mission, adhere to the people-centered approach, strive to solve the fundamental question of for whom to administer justice, guide the majority of Party members and judicial officers to cultivate a people’s sentiment, stand firm on the people’s position, and protect and enhance people’s well-being with strict and fair justice. The main responsibility of the people’s courts is judicial trial. Strengthening Party building must be closely linked to the Party’s central tasks and perform duties responsibly, adhere to the deep integration of Party building and professional work, and better use the rule of law to guarantee and promote the implementation of the Party’s line, principles, and policies.
Always adhere to being guided by scientific theory. The history of Party building is the history of continuously advancing the sinicization and modernization of Marxist party-building theory. Xi Jinping’s thought on Party building has made major original contributions to the development of Marxist party-building theory and demonstrates powerful truth strength in the practice of leading and promoting the strengthening of the Party and the country in the new era. To strengthen the Party building of the people’s courts, it is necessary to deeply grasp the scientific system, rich connotation, theoretical character, and practical requirements of Xi Jinping’s thought on Party building, to know what it is and why it is so, to understand its meaning and its rationale, to perceive the power of truth and the power of personality from it, to make theoretical arming and Party spirit cultivation mutually reinforcing and complement each other, and especially to implement it closely in accordance with the laws of judicial work and the actual situation of the court team, continuously improving the scientific level of Party building in the people’s courts.
Accurately grasp the focus of Party building in the people’s courts in the new era and new journey
Xi Jinping’s thought on Party building was formed in the great practice of the new era and will surely demonstrate majestic power in guiding and promoting practice. The Party building work of the people’s courts must adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping’s thought on Party building, closely combine the historical position and the situation and tasks faced by the people’s judicial cause, and find and grasp the combination point and focus for supporting and serving Chinese-style modernization with the modernization of trial work.
Always highlight the construction of political organs. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized, “The Party’s political construction is the fundamental construction of the Party, determining the direction and effect of Party building.” To strengthen the Party building of the people’s courts, it is necessary to highlight the leading role of political construction, forever maintain the distinctive character of the judicial organ as a political organ, ensure that the direction of judicial work is guided by the Party, the basic principles of judicial work are determined by the Party, and the decisions and deployments of judicial work are led by the Party. Further deepen and solidify the practice of viewing from a political perspective and handling from the rule of law. Viewing from a political perspective means being good at deeply grasping the political stance and political logic behind the appearance of trial business work, and thus grasping the political direction; handling from the rule of law means being good at deeply integrating political requirements into trial work, concretely implementing political awareness through performing duties according to law. Viewing from a political perspective and handling from the rule of law are organically unified. In practice, two erroneous tendencies must be resolutely opposed: one is to talk about politics in isolation, engage in slogan politics, empty politics, and the “two skins” of politics and business; the other is to fail to see the politics in cases, handling cases only by the case, mechanically administering justice. It is necessary to be good at grasping the political factors and influences behind cases, striving to achieve the organic unity of the three effects (三个效果) through fair justice, and thicken the Party’s governing foundation. Viewing from a political perspective and handling from the rule of law test the political ability and professional ability of the vast number of court judicial officers. Always place the improvement of political ability in a prominent position, strengthen political ability training and trial practice experience, guide the vast number of court judicial officers to consciously study and analyze problems from a political perspective, perform trial duties under the overall situation, correctly understand and handle major relationships such as Party policies and national laws, adhering to the Party’s leadership and ensuring that judicial organs independently and impartially exercise their powers according to law, treating end-stage diseases and preventing before-illness, settling disputes according to law and focusing more on stopping disputes, and truly achieve the organic unity of emphasizing politics and emphasizing the rule of law, ensuring that judicial performance better serves and guarantees Chinese-style modernization.
Unremittingly deepen the arming of the Party’s innovative theories. Persisting in using the Party’s innovative theories to unite souls and hearts is the fundamental task of the Party’s ideological construction. It is necessary to deeply study and implement Xi Jinping’s thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, especially Xi Jinping’s thought on Party building and Xi Jinping’s thought on the rule of law, as a basic and long-term task of Party building, truly integrate responsibilities and work, deeply study, firmly believe, and practice it. Firmly grasp the core value pursuit of “striving to make the people feel fairness and justice in every judicial case.” Fairness and justice are the soul and life of justice. Always remember that the subject of feeling fairness and justice is the people, not the judges themselves, deepen and solidify “as if I were the litigant” (如我在诉), both resolve the knot of the law according to laws and regulations, and more importantly, resolve the knot of the heart with heart and emotion, firmly guard the last line of defense for maintaining social fairness and justice. Pay more attention to protecting and promoting social fairness and justice, adhere to the unity of substantive justice, procedural justice, and perceived justice, effectively protect the fairness of rights, opportunities, and rules, improve the mechanism for realizing and evaluating judicial fairness, and continuously improve judicial quality, efficiency, and credibility. Strengthen confidence in the rule of law, enhance the confidence, bottom line, and determination to take the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics. Confidence in the rule of law is the concentrated embodiment of the Four Confidences (四个自信) in the field of the rule of law, a major political issue, and also an ideological issue. Continuously deepen the research, interpretation, and publicity of the core essence, specific connotation, and unique advantages of the socialist rule of law path and judicial system with Chinese characteristics, guide the vast number of Party members and judicial officers to base themselves on China’s history, culture, national conditions, and actual requirements, deeply understand the characteristics and essential basis of China’s socialist rule of law path and judicial system in the sharp contrast between “China’s governance” and “the West’s chaos,” firmly grasp the dominant power and discourse power in the ideological field of the judiciary. Uphold the “soul vein” of Marxist rule of law theory, inherit the “root vein” of excellent traditional Chinese legal culture, continuously research and solve the era’s topics and practical difficulties of building a rule of law China, construct a judicial discourse system with Chinese characteristics that integrates China and foreign countries, tell the stories of China’s rule of law and justice in the new era, and highlight China’s image as a major country of rule of law and civilization.
Comprehensively implement the Party’s organizational line in the new era. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized, “The Party’s strength comes from organization. The Party’s comprehensive leadership and all the Party’s work must be achieved through the Party’s strong organizational system.” Courts at all levels must implement the Party’s organizational line in the new era, continuously improve the effectiveness of the Party’s organizational construction, promote Party organizations to lead more effectively on the basis of tangible coverage, and provide a strong organizational guarantee for promoting the high-quality development of trial work. Focus on strengthening the construction of Party groups in courts at all levels. Party groups of courts at all levels must earnestly implement the Regulations on the Work of Political and Legal Affairs of the Communist Party of China (中国共产党政法工作条例) and the Regulations on the Work of Party Groups of the Communist Party of China (中国共产党党组工作条例), effectively fulfill the responsibility of political leadership, strive to improve political ability, decision-making ability, and management ability, effectively implement the major decisions and deployments of the Central Committee and the work requirements of higher-level courts in combination with the actual work of the court, and better play the important role of setting the direction, managing the overall situation, and ensuring implementation. The Party group team, especially the Party group secretary, must establish and practice a correct view of political achievements, pay attention to coordinating the overall responsibility to the superior and the responsibility to the subordinate, seeking development and laying the foundation, producing visible achievements and emphasizing latent achievements, making decisions and promoting implementation, and shape the atmosphere, lead the team, and promote practical work by setting an example of loyalty, cleanliness, and responsibility. Focus on enhancing the political function and organizational function of grassroots Party organizations. The establishment of Party branches and the division of Party groups are generally consistent with the institutional setup and division of responsibilities, and have unique advantages in managing people and managing regularly. Strictly implement the systems such as the Three Meetings and One Lesson (三会一课) and organizational life meetings, closely combine the transmission and implementation of the Party’s line, principles, policies and the resolutions and directives of higher-level Party organizations with the work responsibilities, specific business, and personnel thoughts of the branch and group, focusing on enhancing Party awareness and organizational awareness, focusing on the mutual promotion of Party building and business construction, truly let every Party member work, live, and do business under organizational guidance and institutional constraints. Grassroots Party organizations are numerous, with obvious differences in types, covering four levels of courts. Construction and development must focus on comprehensive coordination and conformity with reality, implement the work requirements of “increasing advanced branches, upgrading intermediate branches, and rectifying backward branches,” and promote grassroots Party organizations to make overall progress and become comprehensively strong. Focus on forging a high-quality court team of loyalty, cleanliness, and responsibility. Under the new situation, court team building faces many new situations and new problems in reform and development. It is necessary to continuously guide the enhancement of the consciousness and determination to deepen the implementation of judicial system reform. Actively and effectively combine ideological and political work with promoting the resolution of reform difficulties and solving the confusion of judicial officers’ growth and development, guide the vast number of Party members and judicial officers to correctly view the relationship between personal interests and the trial cause, temporary gains and losses and long-term development, and truly complete their own duties with a high spirit and shine. Further strengthen the role of the performance assessment baton, wind vane, and booster, and implement full, precise, and differentiated assessment. Adhere to the principle of career first, fairness and justice, coordinate politics and business, reduce burden and increase efficiency, assess people and assess matters, scientifically evaluate and dynamically adjust the assessment indicator system, deepen the application of assessment results, and motivate and guarantee the vast number of Party members and judicial officers to take practical responsibilities and act in promoting the high-quality development of trial work and serving Chinese-style modernization.
Persistently strengthen the rectification of style and discipline. General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out, “Political and legal organs are the departments that ordinary people deal with more often, and are a mirror for the masses to see the Party style and government style,” illustrating the special importance of strengthening discipline and style construction in the people’s courts. Adhere to higher standards and stricter requirements. Every year, courts across the country try tens of millions of cases, all of which concern the vital interests of the parties involved, the people’s trust in the Party, and their feelings about the socialist rule of law. Discipline and style are a strong guarantee for achieving fairness and justice. The discipline and style construction of the people’s courts must always adhere to strictness first, comprehensive strictness, and strictness to the end. Actively assume responsibility and take action for matters that are conducive to maintaining judicial fairness, credibility, and authority; strictly observe red lines and never touch matters that harm judicial fairness, credibility, and authority. Focus on regulating the exercise of judicial power. The people’s courts are national judicial organs. Comprehensive and strict governance of the Party and the courts must take regulating the exercise of judicial power as the top priority, focusing on strictly implementing the institutional provisions for the supervision and restriction of the exercise of trial power, ensuring that cases are handled well according to regulations and that people are strictly managed. Continuously implement the three provisions (三个规定) on preventing interference in judicial work. Pay attention to promoting the implementation of systems through technology embedding, using technological means to strengthen daily supervision and penetrating supervision, and preventing the occurrence of disciplinary violations to the greatest extent. Managing people focuses on the “key minority.” Leading cadres must be strict with themselves, strictly fulfill their responsibilities, strictly manage their jurisdictions, take the lead in establishing and practicing a correct view of political achievements, take the lead in implementing and implementing systems and regulations, set an example by being upright and strong themselves; at the same time, bear the main responsibility, supervisory responsibility, and dual responsibilities for one post (一岗双责), unify strict supervision and management with encouraging responsibility and action, and lead the vast number of judicial officers to complete the mission and tasks entrusted by the Party and the people.
Continuously promote the high-quality development of Party building in the people’s courts
Xi Jinping’s thought on Party building is extensive, profound, rich in connotation, deep in thought, and rigorous in system. The people’s courts must fully utilize the scientific methods contained therein to promote innovation in Party building, combine the general laws of Party building with the specific characteristics of court Party building, pay more attention to scientific, institutional, and standardized development, and comprehensively improve the quality of Party building in the people’s courts.
Compress the main responsibility of Party building of Party groups in courts at all levels. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized, “The responsibility for governing the Party and managing the Party is the most fundamental political responsibility.” Party groups of courts at all levels must resolutely shoulder the main responsibility for Party building. Improve the institutional mechanism for Party groups of courts at all levels to grasp Party building under the guidance of Xi Jinping’s thought on Party building, refine and improve the list of key matters for Party groups to study the Party building work of the organs, strengthen the overall planning of the Party building forces of the organs, and form a joint force of work. The Party group secretary must earnestly fulfill the responsibility of the first person responsible (第一责任人), personally deploy, personally inquire, personally coordinate, and personally supervise Party building work, take the lead in grasping and strengthening Party building. Members of the Party group team must strictly implement the dual responsibilities for one post (一岗双责) and grasp Party building in their respective fields. Improve the assessment and evaluation mechanism for Party building work, use the “hard constraints” of assessment to promote the true implementation of responsibilities, and use the in-place responsibility to promote the implementation of the tasks of governing the Party and managing the courts.
Integrate and promote the construction of Party building and professional work. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized, “Handle the relationship between Party building and professional work. The key to solving the ‘two skins’ problem is to find the right combination point and promote the mutual promotion of Party building in organs and professional work.” Firmly establish the concept of integration. Strengthening Party building work is to improve the quality and efficiency of trial execution and better serve the central tasks of the Party and the country, fundamentally to protect people’s well-being and thicken the foundation of the Party’s long-term governance. Strengthening the concept of integration means adhering to grasping Party building around the center, grasping Party building to promote business, and taking whether the Central Committee’s decisions and deployments are implemented, whether the Party organization’s functions are enhanced, whether the quality of Party cadres is improved, and whether the people are satisfied as the fundamental standards for measuring the effectiveness of Party building in organs, achieving that problems are found through Party building, problems are checked through Party building, and problems are solved by Party building. Improve the integration mechanism. Adhere to the simultaneous planning, deployment, promotion, and assessment of Party building work and professional work. Party organizations of courts at all levels must refine and improve specific integration mechanisms. The First Agenda (第一议题) system of the Party group is an important system for promoting the integration of Party building and professional work, and the key is whether it is implemented solidly and integrated deeply. All units and departments generally operate work meeting systems and case discussion mechanisms. Only by being good at grasping the direction, finding problems, analyzing the root causes, and studying countermeasures from the perspective of Party building can they keep up with and adapt to the task requirements under complex and severe situations. Enhance the integration capability. To achieve the integration of Party building and professional work, one must be familiar with both Party building work and proficient in one’s own business. Fully leverage the functions of the political department of the court as the Party building guidance department for the business line and the organ Party committee as the specialized department for organ Party building, select and strengthen full-time Party affairs cadres, regularly carry out joint training and integrated training for Party building and business, and effectively enhance the ability and quality to guide and grasp Party building. Strengthen Party affairs training for secretaries of grassroots Party organizations, leaders of Party groups, and Party member judges, guide them to strengthen the awareness that the Party member identity is the first identity and the intra-Party position is the first responsibility, promote the improvement of Party building work ability, and achieve grasping Party building and business with both hands, both hands hard, and both hands promoting.
Continuously innovate methods of Party building work. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that Party building work “must strengthen classified guidance, make scientific and precise policies, achieve ‘one key opens one lock,’ and cannot be ‘one-size-fits-all.’” To strengthen Party building work in the people’s courts, it is necessary to adapt to the development of the times, task requirements, and team reality, and enhance pertinence and effectiveness. Adapt to the requirements of the digital era. The internet brings new challenges to strengthening Party building guidance and ideological guidance. How to resist the “information cocoon,” negative online information, especially the ideological impact on Party members and judicial officers caused by the use of online cognitive warfare by hostile forces, is a major and realistic Party building topic that must be deeply studied and actively solved. At the same time, digital technology is an important support for comprehensively improving the concepts, models, and effectiveness of Party building. Party groups and Party building work departments of courts at all levels must strengthen digital literacy, enhance the ability to use digital technology to carry out Party building work, and promote the transformation of Party building work from generalization and extensive to targeted and precise. Adapt to the requirements of trial execution tasks. Establishing Party branches in the court and Party groups in the trial team is an important organizational form for Party building in the people’s courts. The organizational role must be fully played, integrating Party building work into case collegial panels, judge meetings, and trial management, ensuring the organic unity of the three effects (三个效果) in case handling. Further enrich the Party building carrier of window units, optimize litigation services and improve trial quality and efficiency by setting up Party member pioneer posts, demonstration windows, etc. Continuously strengthen the Party building work of people’s courts, combine with actual work, explore relatively flexible organizational construction mechanisms, and effectively use Party building to lead the settlement of disputes, maintain fairness and justice, serve urban and rural development, and ensure social peace. Based on trial functions, explore and promote pragmatic and efficient joint construction and open Party building models, and enhance the effectiveness of Party building in leading the overall planning of handling cases according to law and promoting grassroots governance. Adapt to the actual situation of the people’s court team. The court team generally has the characteristics of high Party member ratio, high education, youth, and categorization. It is necessary to combine actual conditions to strengthen precise guidance. For young Party member judicial officers, more attention should be paid to guiding them to button the “first button,” continuously strengthen ideal and belief education, Party spirit cultivation exercise, and practical ability training, ensuring that the red gene of the judiciary is passed down from generation to generation. For Party member judicial officers with high education but relatively simple experience, it is necessary to strengthen political training, grassroots exercise, and mass work training, arrange them to grassroots courts, petition windows, and front lines of major cases to undergo Party spirit tempering and improve comprehensive capabilities. For employed Party member judicial officers, it is necessary to strengthen organizational care, strict organizational management, guide them to enhance the sense of belonging, responsibility, and honor, and play a greater role in their own positions.
Party building is the fundamental guarantee for the construction and development of the people’s courts. The people’s courts must adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping’s thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, deeply implement Xi Jinping’s thought on Party building and Xi Jinping’s thought on the rule of law, carry forward the great spirit of Party building, practice the original intention and mission, establish and practice a correct view of political achievements, comprehensively strengthen the Party building of the people’s courts, persistently promote comprehensive and strict governance of the Party and the courts, lead and promote the high-quality development of trial work in the new era with high-quality Party building, and make new and greater contributions to advancing Chinese-style modernization.
Return to TopBy: 戴斌
Since the new era, with economic and social development and the improvement of the people's living standards, tourism has become a rigid demand for the people's美好生活 (better life). In 2025, the per capita disposable income of national residents increased by 5.0% year-on-year, and the proportion of the population with an education level of high school and above rose to 36.6%. The steady growth in income and the improvement in education level have brought about a greater demand for cultural experiences. In 2025, domestic residents made 6.522 billion trips, and outbound tourism reached 143 million trips, up 16.7% and 16.5% year-on-year respectively. Domestic residents made an average of 4.6 trips per person per year, a year-on-year increase of 15%. The increase in travel frequency and the rise of independent travel have driven the shift in tourism demand from "whether or not it exists" to "whether or not it is good."
The vast number of tourists appreciate the beauty of nature and comprehend the beauty of humanity during their journeys, and they also experience the beauty of life on trips that harvest spiritual resonance, emotional connection, and the sentiment of family and country. Tourists expect "my trip, my decision" and also expect "my experience, my decision." Those tourist destinations that are widely popular, especially among young customers, possess not only unbroken cultural heritage, but also shared prosperous quality life, and even more so, an endless technological future. The diversified, personalized, and quality-oriented tourism demand drives young people to be more willing to pay for undefined emotional value and to pay for distinctive scene experiences. They will go to scenic spots and resorts that have not been rated, to mountainous areas, forest areas, grasslands, and neighborhoods that are not well-known, and also to food markets, spending their own unique holiday life in life scenes saturated with the烟火气 (the hustle and bustle of daily life). They will enter old factory districts, old farms, and old campuses to trace the memories of their parents' generation, and will also enter small theaters, concert halls, and science and technology museums to experience contemporary culture and modern civilization, paying homage to both traditional cultural heritage and to scientific innovation, science popularization, and new popular culture, constructing the tourism value of this generation in the dialogue between tradition and modernity.
The continuously improved modern comprehensive transportation system allows people to travel farther, faster, and more freely. The extension of aviation, high-speed rail, and high-speed transportation networks, the popularization of family cars and new energy vehicles, the improvement of off-road vehicles, recreational vehicles, cruise ships, pleasure boats, yachts, general aviation aircraft, low-altitude aircraft and their parking service facilities, together with the improvement of car rental, ride-hailing, and urban transportation systems, have steadily expanded residents' travel radius and destination recreation radius. The core consideration for travel decisions has shifted from "whether you can arrive" to "where you are willing to go." Self-driving, high-speed rail, aviation plus car rental, etc., form a three-dimensional transportation system, driving a new pattern of mass travel space characterized by the "2-hour self-driving circle," "3-hour high-speed rail circle," and "4-hour flight circle." During the 2026 Spring Festival holiday, the average travel radius of domestic tourists was 231.39 kilometers, and the tourists' recreation radius at the destination was 21.83 kilometers. Innovative business formats such as Quanzhou's "Xiaobai" sightseeing bus, Chengdu's "Hot Pot Bus," and Xishuangbanna's "Rainforest Heart" scenic bus not only fulfill the functional value of tourism transportation but also create entirely new experience scenes and emotional value.
The diversified innovation of hotels and homestays makes "accommodation" itself a unique experience during the journey. The opening and operation of national resort hotels such as Kaiyuan's Senbo (开元森泊) and Fosun's White Ark (复星白日方舟), the market popularity of lifestyle hotels such as Atour (亚朵) and UrCove (逸扉), together with the acceleration of mid-range and economy hotels sinking into lower-tier cities and county-level central towns, have brought more accommodation choices to tourists. The cluster development of homestay projects such as Mogan Mountain in Zhejiang, Zhongwei Yellow River Lodging Cluster (中卫黄河宿集), Dali Shuanglang (大理双廊), and Yanqing Great Wall Homestays (延庆长城人家) in Beijing, as well as the rise of new tourism accommodation formats such as serviced apartments, short-term rental apartments, and timeshares, have greatly satisfied the differentiated and multi-level accommodation experience needs of the era of comprehensive mass tourism. The functional iteration and experience upgrade of accommodation space allow "accommodation" during the journey to both settle the body and soothe the emotions. From tourist scenic spots, tourist resorts, cultural tourism and leisure streets, to theme parks, urban parks, suburban parks, urban and rural greenways, archaeological site parks, museums, and art galleries, and further to food markets revitalized through old city renewal and creative parks transformed from industrial relics, destination governments, investors, and operators, based on a deep insight into the new needs of residents and tourists for a better life, continuously innovate and enrich tourism experience scenes, providing solid support for the diversified, personalized, and quality-oriented needs of tourists. Travel agencies, as a classic format of tourism, through continuous innovation in travel services and experience scenes, satisfy people's deep-seated needs for settling the body and mind and nurturing the intellect during the journey, and also continuously create new tourism expectations. From travel agencies and community-based travel clubs to online travel service providers, digital map service providers, and social media platforms, the generalization of travel service supply entities continuously expands service supply.
Central and local tourism policy objectives no longer purely pursue scale growth indicators, but instead place greater emphasis on the synergistic advancement of multiple objectives such as scale, structure, quality, efficiency, and economic and social benefits. The intensity of tourism market governance continues to increase. The "Measures for Handling Tourism Complaints" (旅游投诉处理办法) has been formally implemented. The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress has launched a law enforcement inspection of the Tourism Law. Tourism chaos such as scenic area gates being built farther and farther away and forced shopping has become the focus of rectification. The "peace of mind" guaranteed by market governance is the organic soil for the growth of emotional value. Whether it is tourism within public services or public services within tourism, both are being continuously improved and refined. During holidays, government compounds and public spaces are opened free of charge to tourists, scenic area reservation systems are continuously optimized, aging-friendly and disability-friendly renovations are accelerated, and tourism volunteer service stations are spread across major scenic spots and transportation hubs. In the first half of 2026, the national tourist satisfaction score reached 81.94 points, up 0.8% year-on-year, consistently remaining in the "satisfied" range. Every effort made by the government is felt by the tourists.
General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out, "Tourism has grown from small to large, from weak to strong, and is increasingly becoming an emerging strategic pillar industry and a livelihood industry and happiness industry with significant characteristics of the times." The emphasis on emotional value is not to negate the functional value of tourism, but to expect the tourism industry to better meet the new expectations of the people in the new era for a better life of poetry and the distant. It requires the tourism industry, on the basis of satisfying the basic functions of travel, sightseeing, accommodation, dining, shopping, safety, and convenience for tourists, to pay more attention to tourists' experience needs for the destination's natural environment and humanistic scenes, as well as their needs for integration into local life. Emotional value has never been shallow sensory stimulation, nor is it simply pandering to online traffic. Rather, it is the unification of "humanization" (人化) and "humanizing education" (化人) in the journey, transforming the external "world-in-itself" into the self's "cultural world," thereby enhancing one's own level of civilization. Just as General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out, "The biggest difference between human society and the animal kingdom is that people have spiritual needs, and the people's need for spiritual and cultural life exists at all times." Orderly upgrading the functional combination of "eating, accommodation, travel, shopping, and entertainment" into a value chain that soothes emotions, nurtures the intellect, and cultivates sentiment is the inherent requirement of deep integration of culture and tourism, and also the necessary path for building a country with strong tourism and promoting high-quality development of tourism. The pursuit of emotional value by tourists places entirely new demands on tourism work and the development of the tourism industry.
First, transform the concept of tourism development. Enabling every Chinese person to live a better life of poetry and the distant is the value orientation and goal orientation of tourism work for the current and future period. Tourism not only has significant economic and market attributes, but also has distinct political, ideological, social, and cultural attributes. In practice, special attention must be paid to overcoming a single destination-oriented thinking, and further strengthening a tourist source-oriented thinking. What kind of tourists there are will give rise to what kind of destinations. Tourist demand and consumption behavior have changed, and tourism supply must change accordingly. One cannot simply emphasize that one possesses a unique resource system; one must see that by relaxing just one or two preconditions, the uniqueness and scarcity of many resources are greatly diminished. True competitiveness lies not in the monopoly of resources, but in the deep understanding and precise response to tourist needs. From destination-oriented thinking to tourist source-oriented thinking, a change in concept often leads to a situation where "one move lands and the whole board comes alive" (一子落而满盘活). The popularity of "So close, so beautiful, spend the weekend in Hebei" (这么近、那么美，周末到河北) lies precisely in its precise response to the needs of tourists under the influence of the modern transportation system, providing tourists with strong emotional value and emotional resonance through sincere hospitality and full-participation by the public.
Second, transform the mode of tourism development. Strive to promote the integrated, intelligent, and green development of tourism. Advance the deep integration of culture and tourism, promote the creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture, carry forward revolutionary culture, and make good use of advanced socialist culture. Promote the integration of cultural tourism with the primary and secondary industries, vigorously develop new business formats such as industrial tourism, science and technology tourism, sports tourism, and health and wellness tourism, and use integration to promote business format innovation and scene renewal. Promote the broad integration of cultural tourism with economic and social development and ecological civilization construction, achieving the organic unification of economic, social, and ecological benefits. Intelligentization should be rooted in the basic advantages of "Made in China" and the profound accumulation of "Service in China," promoting the integration of advanced manufacturing and artificial intelligence into the entire process of tourism innovation and development. From the convenience and precision of travel booking, real-time intelligence of scenic area navigation, to efficient coordination of safety warnings and visitor flow guidance, let technology serve human needs, effectively improving governance efficiency and tourist experience. Deeply practice Xi Jinping's Thought on Ecological Civilization, turning the concept that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" (绿水青山就是金山银山) into the ecological practice of high-quality development of tourism. In the process of building a country with strong tourism, we must optimize new investment increments, but also revitalize existing stock resources, encourage the development of small yet beautiful, small yet refined, and small yet warm boutique projects, and create high-quality living spaces shared by hosts and guests.
Third, transform the method of evaluating tourism development. Evaluation indicators emphasize quality over quantity, shifting from simply pursuing the number of visitors and revenue growth to placing greater emphasis on tourist experience, cultural connotation, service quality, and sustainable development. The evaluation subject must adhere to a people-centered approach. Whether a place's tourism development is good or not must be judged not only by the strength of its industrial competitiveness, the level of its social contribution, and the magnitude of its global influence, but also by the level of tourist satisfaction and the strength of residents' sense of gain. More scientific evaluation tools and methods should be adopted, comprehensively utilizing means such as big data analysis, tourist behavior research, and satisfaction surveys of tourists, residents, and employees to construct a comprehensive, objective, and precise evaluation system.
(The author is the President of the China Tourism Academy (中国旅游研究院院长).)
Return to TopBy: 曹敏
The Temple of Heaven was first built in the 18th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming dynasty (1420), covering an area of 2.73 million square meters, with a volume roughly four times that of the Forbidden City. It is the largest and most well-preserved extant Ming and Qing imperial ritual architectural complex for worshipping heaven in China. In 1998, the Temple of Heaven was inscribed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List, praised as "a masterpiece of architecture and landscape design which simply and graphically illustrates a cosmogony of great importance for the evolution of one of the world's great civilizations."
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out at the Symposium on Cultural Inheritance and Development, "Only by fully and deeply understanding the history of Chinese civilization can we more effectively promote the creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture." With more than 600 years of accumulated history, the Temple of Heaven, taking architectural form, spatial layout, numerical and calendrical construction, and ritual system as its carriers, has fused the traditional Chinese cosmovision, ritual thought, people-oriented concept, and numerical wisdom into every brick and tile, every hall and altar. It not only embodies outstanding architectural artistic achievements, but its layout and form, component standards, and environmental design are layer by layer engraved with the unique spiritual code of Chinese civilization, recording the fundamental reflections of the Chinese nation on the relationship between heaven and humanity, social order, and state governance. It is both a classic paradigm of the concretization and spatialization of fine traditional Chinese culture and a living historical mirror for inheriting and developing fine traditional Chinese culture in the new era.
天圆地方 (tiān yuán dì fāng — "heaven is round, earth is square," an ancient Chinese cosmological concept) — the spatial expression of the cosmovision. The construction philosophy of the Temple of Heaven profoundly embodies the unique cosmology and spatial philosophy of Chinese civilization. The ancient Chinese, by observing celestial phenomena above and surveying geographical features below, condensed the cosmological understanding of "heaven is round, earth is square." This philosophical concept became the top-level logic for the overall planning of the Temple of Heaven, taking root everywhere from site selection to the shape of the altar walls. The Temple of Heaven is located southeast of the outer city of the old city of Beijing, conforming to the ancient ritual of "sacrificing to heaven at the southern suburbs and to earth at the northern suburbs." The south belongs to yang; yang qi rises to match the vast heaven. To its west, it faces the Altar of the God of Agriculture (先农坛) in an east-west confrontation, with the left representing heaven and the right representing earth — one primarily for worshipping the vast heaven, the other for the god of agriculture — together constituting the capital city construction pattern of "left heaven, right earth, ritual matching yin and yang" (左天右地、礼配阴阳). This is a physical relic of traditional Chinese ritual capital city planning thought. The double-layered altar walls of the Temple of Heaven are uniquely designed, presenting an overall pattern of "round in the north, square in the south" (北圆南方). The northern wall is arched and closed off, while the southern wall is square and right-angled, using the wall contours to visually outline the traditional worldview of a round vault of heaven and a square earth, achieving an innovative transformation of abstract philosophical thought into architectural space.
Spatial order is not only reflected in form, but also permeates the functional layout. The architectural sequence from the Circular Mound Altar (圜丘坛) and the Imperial Vault of Heaven (皇穹宇) to the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests (祈年殿) forms a complete ritual axis from "sacrificing to heaven" to "praying for grain," symbolizing the sacred path of communication between heaven and humanity. The Danbi Bridge (丹陛桥), as the passage connecting the main buildings, is 360 meters long. Walking on it creates a spatial experience from the secular to the sacred, from the human world to the heavenly realm, strengthening the solemnity and ritual sense of the sacrificial ceremonies. This carefully designed spatial narrative not only serves the sacrificial function, but also embodies the profound understanding of cosmic order and the continuous pursuit of social harmony in Chinese civilization.
阴阳数理 (yīn yáng shù lǐ — "yin-yang and numerical principles," the integration of yin-yang cosmology with mathematical and calendrical knowledge) — the architectural internalization of astronomical calendrics. Through its numbers, column styles, and altar platform structures, the Temple of Heaven conceals traditional numerical and calendrical systems such as yin-yang and the five elements, the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches (天干地支), the Twenty-Eight Mansions (二十八星宿), and the four seasons and monthly orders, within the details of its architecture, achieving a deep integration of astronomical calendrics, Yijing numerology, and construction techniques. Among these, the Circular Mound Altar and the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests are the core carriers that concentrate the traditional numerological significance.
The extreme yang numbers of the Circular Mound Altar express the ancient people's infinite reverence for "heaven" and also demonstrate their ultimate pursuit of mastery in 象天法地 (xiàng tiān fǎ dì — "imitate heaven and emulate earth," constructing architecture in imitation of celestial and terrestrial patterns). The Circular Mound Altar is the main altar where emperors sacrificed to heaven on the winter solstice. It is entirely circular, with three tiers of platforms, drawing on the statement in the Book of Han (《汉书》) that "heaven has three steps." The entire altar's specifications take "nine" as the core; nine is the ultimate yang number, representing the supreme nine heavens and the vast heaven's supremacy. The center of the top platform is the Heaven's Heart Stone (天心石), surrounded outward by nine rings of fan-shaped green stones: the first ring has 9 stones, the second ring 18, increasing by multiples of nine layer by layer, with the outermost ring having 81 stones. The middle and lower layers' stone slabs also follow multiples of nine, and even the quantities of stone steps and balustrade panels all take nine or multiples of nine, extremely highlighting the ritual rule of revering yang in heaven worship.
The space-time code of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests embodies the ancient Chinese practice of 观象授时 (guān xiàng shòu shí — "observe celestial phenomena to confer the seasons," the practice of determining the agricultural calendar by astronomical observation) and the constructive wisdom of 法天象地 (fǎ tiān xiàng dì — "model heaven and emulate earth," constructing in imitation of celestial and terrestrial patterns). As the main hall for the Grand Prayer for Grain Ceremony, the hall's 28 giant columns conceal the agricultural calendar and astronomical codes: the 4 central dragon-well columns symbolize the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter; the 12 middle-level gold columns correspond to the twelve months of the year; the 12 outer-level eaves columns represent the twelve double-hours of the day; the combined 24 columns of the inner and outer layers correspond to the twenty-four solar terms; all 28 columns echo the Twenty-Eight Mansions in the sky. The three-tiered roof symbolizes the three powers of heaven, earth, and humanity (三才). The entire hall perfectly integrates the agricultural cycle, astronomical phenomena, and architectural structure, becoming a three-dimensional epitome of the Chinese agricultural calendar.
The acoustic wonders displayed by the Echo Wall (回音壁) of the Imperial Vault of Heaven and the Heaven's Heart Stone of the Circular Mound Altar represent the integrated application of ancient people's multidisciplinary wisdom in astronomy, mathematics, and physics, and are a paradigm of the combination of ancient natural scientific wisdom with ritual architecture. The Echo Wall allows a whisper to be heard over a long distance, as if "heaven hears like thunder"; standing on the Heaven's Heart Stone and speaking produces a strong resonant echo, symbolizing 亿兆景从 (yì zhào jǐng cóng — "the millions follow in allegiance," describing overwhelming popular support). These create a ritual atmosphere of 天人感应 (tiān rén gǎn yìng — "interaction between heaven and humanity," the belief that the human and celestial realms influence each other) through acoustic principles, grounding the philosophical image of heaven-human interaction through physical construction, making abstract philosophical concepts perceptible and knowable.
敬天保民 (jìng tiān bǎo mín — "revere heaven and protect the people," a Confucian governing principle) — 顺时安民 (shùn shí ān mín — "follow the seasons and pacify the people," governing in harmony with nature to ensure people's well-being) — the state governance philosophy. The essence of the Temple of Heaven is a ritual architectural complex, and its function transcends mere sacrifice; it is an embodiment of ancient Chinese state governance thought. The Book of Documents (《尚书》) states, "Heaven sees as my people see; Heaven hears as my people hear." Since the pre-Qin period, "revering heaven does not equal flattering the gods; sacrificing to heaven is rooted in pacifying the people" became the core essence of the suburban sacrifices of Huaxia. The 600-year sacrificial history of the Temple of Heaven is essentially a historical epitome of ancient dynasties using ritual to anchor the governance philosophy of emphasizing agriculture and pacifying the people. Twenty-two Ming and Qing emperors in succession conducted more than 600 sacrifices at the Temple of Heaven, divided into three core categories: the winter solstice sacrifice at the Circular Mound Altar to the Supreme Lord of Heaven, the first month prayer at the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests for abundant grain harvests, and the summer rain-prayer ceremony at the Rain Altar (雩坛). The starting point of all sacrifices was closely tied to the lifeline of agriculture. Under the traditional agricultural economy, emperors used state sacrifices to pray for 风调雨顺 (fēng tiáo yǔ shùn — "wind and rain in harmony," favorable weather for crops) and 五谷丰登 (wǔ gǔ fēng dēng — "five grains abundant harvest," a good harvest of all crops). In essence, this used the ritual of revering heaven to anchor the governing orientation of taking agriculture as the foundation and caring for the people's livelihood — an important wisdom of ancient Chinese state governance.
文脉赓续 (wén mài gēng xù — "continuity of cultural lineage," the continuous inheritance of cultural heritage) — the transformation of the altar site in the new era. In 1918, the Temple of Heaven was officially opened to the public. After a century of changes, the cultural function of the Temple of Heaven shifted from an imperial sacrificial altar for feudal dynasties to a modern carrier for inheriting the Chinese cultural lineage, conducting external cultural exchanges, and popularizing fine traditional Chinese culture. The cultural codes it contains are continuously being revitalized in the new era. In foreign exchanges, the Temple of Heaven has become a symbolic emblem of Chinese civilization. Numerous major diplomatic events have been held here. Relying on the concepts of "unity of heaven and humanity" (天人合一) and "harmony and coexistence" (和合共生) carried by its architecture, it conveys China's wisdom of living in harmony with nature and mutual learning among civilizations, becoming an important window for Chinese culture to go global.
From mortise-and-tenon woodwork (榫卯木作) and glazed tile work (琉璃瓦作) to acoustic design and ancient architectural restoration, the numerological wisdom and construction techniques contained in the Temple of Heaven have been incorporated into the intangible cultural heritage protection system. Through cultural and museum studies and the popularization of traditional culture, these astronomical, mathematical, and architectural wisdoms condensed in ancient buildings are accelerating their integration into modern life. Deeply excavating the cultural genes carried by the Temple of Heaven and systematically elucidating their contemporary value not only enhances the people's cultural identity and national pride, but also provides deep and lasting historical support for strengthening cultural confidence.
One altar contains heaven and earth; one hall gathers past and present. Over 600 years of change, the Temple of Heaven has long transcended the architectural nature of an ancient imperial sacrificial altar. With its round and square forms it bears the Dao of the cosmos; with its numerical and calendrical skill it blends the wisdom of the calendar; with its sacrificial rites it preserves the soul of the people-oriented philosophy; it has completely preserved the unique way of thinking, values, and aesthetic paradigms of Chinese civilization. Interpreting the cultural code of the Temple of Heaven is not only a look back at history, but also a means to draw wisdom, and in the dialogue between tradition and modernity, to create a more harmonious future.
Return to TopBy: 赵心慧
As the summer vacation arrives, various study travel and study tour markets continue to heat up, becoming an important option for the holiday life of many primary and secondary school students. As a "walking classroom," the study tour carries the educational tradition of 读万卷书 (dú wàn juàn shū - "read ten thousand volumes," to have extensive knowledge) and 行万里路 (xíng wàn lǐ lù - "travel ten thousand miles," to gain experience), serving as an important link between classroom education and social practice, and as a crucial growth pathway for students to broaden their horizons, increase their knowledge, and sharpen their character. However, with the rapid expansion of the market scale, the tendency of study tours to deviate and distort is increasingly prominent, not only weakening educational value but also breeding problems such as utilitarian comparison and regulatory arbitrage. The study tour industry urgently needs to 正本清源 (zhèng běn qīng yuán - "straighten the root and clear the source," to fundamentally rectify) and correct deviations and restore proper direction, safeguarding the original intention of education.
The soul of the study tour lies in using action to promote knowledge and the 知行合一 (zhī xíng hé yī - "knowledge and action are one," unity of knowledge and action). The Chinese nation has since ancient times valued the educational role of study tours. Confucius led his disciples on travels through various states, and even when food ran out in Chen and Cai, he still 弦歌不辍 (xián gē bù chuò - "strings and songs never ceased," to keep teaching and learning despite hardship). Sima Qian, at the age of twenty, traveled south to the Yangtze and Huai rivers, viewed the Xiao and Xiang rivers, climbed Mount Kuaiji, and finally achieved the grandeur of the Records of the Grand Historian. Li Bai "left his homeland with sword in hand, bidding farewell to his parents to travel far," and Du Fu made grand tours of Wu, Yue, Qi, and Zhao, all of whom cultivated their poetic spirit and character through the nourishment of mountains, rivers, and human culture. Entering the new era, the study tour has been given a clear policy orientation. In 2016, the Ministry of Education (教育部), the National Development and Reform Commission (国家发展改革委), and other 11 departments issued the "Opinions on Promoting Study Travel for Primary and Secondary School Students" (《关于推进中小学生研学旅行的意见》), incorporating study travel into the education and teaching plan of primary and secondary schools, clarifying its important attribute of comprehensive practical education, and emphasizing the principles of educational nature, practicality, safety, and public welfare. In other words, the first attribute of the study tour is education; "learning" is the fundamental core, and "travel" is the carrying form. The two cannot be neglected, nor can they be 本末倒置 (běn mò dào zhì - "put the root and the tip upside down," to confuse priorities).
Against the backdrop of the deepening implementation of the "double reduction" (双减) policy, the study tour has opened an important pathway for students to step out of books, get close to nature, and perceive society. It is an important starting point for solving the problems of "high scores, low ability" (高分低能) and "knowledge and action disconnected" (知行脱节), and for cultivating students' core competencies. A well-designed study tour lesson can make events in history textbooks feel tangible and touchable, allow scientific principles to be verified in practice, and let the feelings of family and country (家国情怀) soak into the heart during the journey. Precisely because of this, the study tour has gained widespread recognition from schools, families, and society, and has ushered in space for rapid development.
But in reality, some study tour projects are gradually deviating from the track of education, making the originally pure growth classroom become off-flavor and off-shape (变了味、走了样). Some institutions simply paste the "study" (研学) label on regular tourism routes and sell them at a premium. The itinerary mainly consists of checking in at scenic spots and taking photos, lacking both systematic course design and clear inquiry tasks, and even more lacking professional guidance with educational qualifications. Some overseas study tour projects stop only at taking photos at the school gate; the so-called "cultural experience" is mostly shopping in commercial districts, with the proportion of actual learning content extremely low, almost degenerating into expensive sightseeing groups. Study tours span the fields of education and tourism. The industry entry threshold is relatively low, standards are not unified, and many practitioners have neither tourism service qualifications nor educational professional backgrounds. What also needs to be vigilant is that some institutions use the guise of study tours to carry out subject-based training, moving tutoring classes into study camps, playing the "edge ball" (擦边球) of policy. Such operations have become a regulatory blind spot for invisible and variant training (隐形变异培训) under the "double reduction" background. Some merchants deliberately create "study tour anxiety" (游学焦虑), packaging study tours as "standard educational equipment" (教育标配) and "extra points for school advancement" (升学加分项). In this atmosphere, the study tour gradually alienates into a competition of family economic strength, which not only increases the financial burden on families but also fosters a bad atmosphere of vanity and comparison, violating the original intention of universal benefit of practical education, and even more detrimental to the cultivation of correct values among young people.
The deviation of study tours has its root in the educational original intention being hijacked by commercial logic. To rectify and restore proper direction, we must adhere to a systematic concept, promote coordinated efforts from the government, schools, and society, and let the study tour truly return to the standard of education.
Tightening the institutional cage and strengthening coordinated supervision are prerequisites. It is necessary to clarify the boundaries of responsibilities among departments such as education, culture and tourism, and market supervision; establish a cross-department joint law enforcement mechanism; and form a full-chain regulatory synergy. Strictly implement the "Interim Measures for Administrative Penalties on Off-Campus Training" (《校外培训行政处罚暂行办法》), and resolutely investigate and punish with zero tolerance for behaviors that illegally carry out subject-based training under the names of study tours, study travel, etc. Accelerate the improvement of the industry standard system, clarify hard requirements for curriculum design, teacher allocation, safety management, fee standards, etc. for study travel; promote the use of model texts for study tour contracts; and effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers. Improve the industry credit evaluation mechanism, establish institutional red and black lists (红黑名单) and a normalized exit mechanism, and punish institutions that engage in false advertising, price fraud, or lack of safety guarantees according to laws and regulations.
Consolidating main responsibility and returning to the educational standard are key. As an important organizer of study tour activities, schools must shoulder the main responsibility for education. They should incorporate study tours into the school curriculum system for overall planning, design study themes based on the characteristics of the school stage and teaching content, clarify teaching objectives, practical tasks, and evaluation standards, so that study tours truly serve student growth. Strictly control the selection of partner institutions, conduct comprehensive reviews of qualification conditions, course plans, safety guarantees, etc., and participate in the entire process of itinerary management and teaching implementation. Always adhere to the principles of public welfare and universal benefit; strictly prohibit forcing or covertly forcing students to participate; strictly prohibit introducing high-priced commercial projects; fully tap into local resources such as red education bases, science and technology museums, museums, and rural revitalization demonstration sites; and develop low-cost, high-quality study travel routes, so that more students can enjoy the educational value of study tours.
Building social consensus and guiding rational cognition are the foundation. Relevant industry associations in the fields of education and culture and tourism should promote the implementation of industry norms, guide institutions to deeply cultivate course content, and abandon short-sighted behaviors such as anxiety marketing and vicious competition. Parents should also establish a correct view of education, abandon the utilitarian mentality of "gilding the study tour" (游学镀金) and "the farther the better, the more expensive the better," not blindly follow trends or compare, and choose study tour projects that truly have content and quality based on the child's age characteristics, interests, and family reality, paying more attention to the child's real gains during the study tour rather than check-in lists and social media displays. At the same time, encourage various public cultural venues, research institutes, enterprises, and public institutions to open up study resources, enrich the supply of public welfare study tours, and create a good environment for the healthy development of study tours.
The value of a study tour has never been about the distance of the journey or the level of expense, but whether it truly achieves "研有所思、学有所获、旅有所感、行有所成" (yán yǒu suǒ sī, xué yǒu suǒ huò, lǚ yǒu suǒ gǎn, xíng yǒu suǒ chéng - "study has thought, learning has gain, travel has feeling, action has achievement"). The walking classroom is, in essence, a classroom for education. Only by always adhering to the fundamental task of 立德树人 (lì dé shù rén - "establish virtue and cultivate people," to foster virtue and nurture talent), calibrating the direction of study tours with the educational original intention, and regulating market operation with systematic governance, can every departure become a ladder for growth.
Return to TopBy: 李兴博
At dawn on October 16, 1920, the 21-year-old Qu Qiubai (瞿秋白) bid farewell to Beijing and, as a special correspondent jointly employed by Beijing's Morning Post (晨报) and Shanghai's Current Affairs News (时事新报), boarded a train for Soviet Russia together with Yu Songhua (俞颂华) and Li Zongwu (李宗武). Over the next two years and more, he conducted in-depth interviews in Soviet Russia and wrote tirelessly, reporting to his countrymen the true face of the world's first socialist state, and was hailed as “the earliest press pioneer to systematically report the situation in Soviet Russia to the Chinese people.” “I always want to carve a bright path for everyone”—this sentence, written at the opening of his work Journey to the Land of Hunger (饿乡纪程) composed during his time in Soviet Russia, was precisely the wish of this long journey.
Setting out for Soviet Russia to explore a new path to save the nation
In the autumn of 1920, the Morning Post and Current Affairs News, in order to “probe the true conditions of various countries,” jointly published a Joint Announcement (共同启事), declaring that they would “jointly raise funds, select and dispatch specialists separately to Europe and America to undertake the tasks of investigation and correspondence, hoping in some measure to fulfill our duty and thereby open a new era for the press.” Among the reporters dispatched to various countries listed in the announcement were outstanding figures of the May Fourth youth such as Zhang Shenfu (张申府), Liu Yanling (刘延陵), and Luo Jialun (罗家伦); among the names sent to Soviet Russia, Qu Qiubai’s name was included.
It was no accident that Qu Qiubai was selected to go to Soviet Russia. He was an outstanding student at the Beijing Russian Language Specialized School (北京俄文专修馆), proficient in Russian and with a solid foundation in Chinese. During the May Fourth Movement, he served as a representative of the Russian Language School, participated in the activities of the Beijing Student Federation, and acted as a councilor in the Federation’s Evaluation Board. In March 1920, he joined the Marxist Theory Research Society founded by Li Dazhao (李大钊) and others; earlier, he had also founded the ten-day journal New Society (新社会) together with Zheng Zhenduo (郑振铎) and Geng Jizhi (耿济之), and his thinking was turning toward Marxism.
When he decided to go to Soviet Russia as a journalist, most relatives and friends disapproved; even his cousin, who had always supported him financially, said this was “walking straight into a dead end.” Before his departure, at a farewell gathering at Geng Jizhi’s home, Qu Qiubai said to his friends: “How Russia has no food, no clothing… hunger, cold… for the moment never mind… it is, after all, the world’s first social revolutionary state, the center of world revolution, the point of contact between Eastern and Western cultures.” He wanted to bear for China’s disordered intellectual world “a share of the responsibility for the development of thought during China’s era of regeneration.”
Trekking ten thousand miles to reach Moscow
On the evening of October 18, 1920, Qu Qiubai and his party, together with Chen Guangping (陈广平), China’s Consul General in Moscow, left Tianjin, traveling the Beijing-Fengtian Railway to Fengtian, then switching to the South Manchuria Railway to Changchun, and then changing to the Chinese Eastern Railway to reach Harbin. Along the way they “passed through the railways of three countries,” changing money again and again; from this he soberly perceived the extreme hardship of China’s economy under imperialist control.
Because the Red Army in Siberia was fiercely fighting the “White bandit” Semyonov, the route was cut off, and Qu Qiubai and his party were stranded in Harbin for more than fifty days. On November 7, the third anniversary of the victory of the October Revolution, through the introduction of a Russian friend, he attended a celebration held by the Harbin Federation of Labor Unions, where for the first time he heard the majestic Internationale and saw the entire hall shouting “Long live!” After the meeting, Qu Qiubai was invited to a banquet at the home of a Bolshevik Party member; he saw “the whole room filled with red light, and in the red light were portraits of Marx, Lenin, and Trotsky.” He did not let the days of detention go to waste; he often visited Russian and Japanese residential areas and schools, interviewed newspaper editors, collected Russian books and newspapers, attended lectures at the Labor University run by Russians, and made several Russian friends.
On December 10, Qu Qiubai and others boarded a westward train. Three days later, at Manzhouli on the China-Russia border, he met Liu Shaozhou (刘绍周), the president of the Chinese Workers’ Union in Russia, who was returning to China. Liu Shaozhou had been received by Lenin three times, and told him in detail about the various conditions of the overseas Chinese and the Labor and Peasant Government. Qu Qiubai stayed for more than twenty days in Chita, the capital of the Far Eastern Republic, where the local Communist Party committee gave him The Program of the Russian Communist Party, A History of Socialism, and the Communist International magazine; he “skimmed through them once and only then gained a little understanding of the theory of the Russian Communist Party.” In Journey to the Land of Hunger he summarized the gains of this leg of the journey: “In Harbin I gained atmosphere, in Manzhouli facts, in Chita theory.” On the evening of January 25, 1921, Qu Qiubai and his party arrived at the Yaroslavsky Station in Moscow.
Reporting on Soviet Russia and spreading Marxism-Leninism
Not long after arriving in Moscow, Qu Qiubai and his party published in the Soviet Russian newspaper Izvestia an “Appeal to Russian Workers and Press Workers,” solemnly declaring: “The great worldwide socialist teacher Karl Marx, in his genius theory of social revolution, pointed out to us the path for creating a proletarian culture and civilization for humanity. You are precisely building your society in accordance with his teachings. … The Chinese people almost completely do not understand the process of your new social construction. Our responsibility lies in studying this construction and widely introducing it to our people.” He gave himself a Russian name, “Viktor Strakhov,” meaning “overcome fear, conquer difficulties.”
Through the introduction of the chief editor of Pravda, Qu Qiubai extensively investigated this newborn state, visiting art galleries, schools, and other places, making a special trip to pay homage to Tolstoy’s former residence, and reporting back to China one article after another on the politics, economy, and culture of Soviet Russia as he saw them with his own eyes. A Russian who knew Chinese, Guo Zhisheng (郭质生), served as his translator and became his lifelong confidant. He also attended concerts and poetry evenings organized by Soviet Russian literary and artistic groups, experiencing the vitality that burst forth in the midst of the country’s hardships.
On June 22, 1921, the Third Congress of the Communist International opened; Qu Qiubai attended and conducted interviews as a journalist. On July 6, Lenin mounted the rostrum in the Andreyev Hall of the Kremlin to give a speech; Qu Qiubai wrote: “Lenin rose to speak three or four times, very fluent in German and French, with a calm and decisive manner; when speaking he absolutely did not have the attitude of a university professor, but a sincere and resolute statesman’s demeanor flowed naturally from him.” During a break he met Lenin in the corridor; Lenin suggested he look up some materials on Eastern questions. On November 7, the fourth anniversary of the victory of the October Revolution, he witnessed Lenin mount the rostrum to speak at the Third Electric Power Workers’ Factory in Moscow; in Heart History of the Red Capital (赤都心史) he recorded the scene: “Unintentionally, suddenly I saw Lenin step onto the rostrum. The whole hall crowded and stirred. For a few minutes, as if in overwhelming astonishment, there was a moment of silence, and then suddenly shouts of ‘Long live!’ and thunderous applause shook heaven and earth.”
In March 1921, the Tenth Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) was held in Moscow. Based on the conference documents and other materials, Qu Qiubai wrote a long dispatch of about 30,000 characters entitled “The Humanization of Communism—The Tenth All-Russian Communist Party Congress,” serialized from June 22 to September 23 in the Morning Post, covering issues such as nationality, foreign affairs, Party organization, and the Communist International. In this article he explained in popular terms to his countrymen the program for transforming society in Marx’s doctrine: the process of social transformation includes world social revolution, the dictatorship of the proletariat, and the construction of a unified large economic unit for the whole world; “then the whole world will implement the system of large-scale production, transform all humanity into the proletariat, and then organize a stateless, classless, free, equal, communist society.” Based on Lenin’s report, this congress adopted the historic resolution on replacing the surplus grain appropriation system with a tax in kind—the transition from War Communism to the New Economic Policy. Surrounding the New Economic Policy, Qu Qiubai wrote one after another a series of dispatches including “Economic Problems of Soviet Russia,” “The Ninth All-Russian Congress of Soviets,” “Western Europe and Soviet Russia in 1922—A New Atmosphere in Russia’s Economic Transformation,” and “The New Economic Policy as Effect and Old Political Thought as Cause,” becoming the first to systematically explain its origins and development to the Chinese people.
He also used his theoretical acumen to systematically study and translate the history, program, and strategy of the Communist International, successively writing articles such as “The History of the Development of the Communist Faction in the World Social Movement—The World Communist Party and the World Trade Union Confederation,” “World Social Transformation and the Communist International—Issues of the Communist International’s Program,” and “Modern Capital-Labor War and Revolution—Issues of the Communist International’s Strategy.” These articles, congealing the fruits of his research on Soviet Russia, were published in 1923 in the inaugural issue (the “Communist International Issue”) of the quarterly New Youth (新青年), which he edited. That inaugural issue also carried his translation of Lenin’s report to the Fourth Congress of the Communist International, “Five Years of the Russian Revolution,” as well as the Internationale he translated for the first time with musical notation. To enable Chinese workers to “speak with a different language but the same voice” as the proletarians of the whole world, he transliterated “International” as “Yingdenaxiongnaner” (英德纳雄纳尔).
Learning from Russia to explore the path of the Chinese revolution
Before going to Soviet Russia, Qu Qiubai had imagined Soviet Russia as a “laboratory of communism,” supposing that the Bolsheviks, like chemists, could, by following the “formula of socialist theory,” synthesize an ideal society at one try. But the icy, snowy journey of ten thousand miles through Siberia taught him a severe lesson: “Only actual life can teach people.” It was precisely through thinking based on objective facts that he established “worldly materialism” and set himself a mission: to study communism—the value of this social organization for human culture; to study Russian culture—one part of human culture, and the starting point for the advance from old culture to new culture. In May 1921, through the introduction of his fellow townsman and close friend Zhang Tailei (张太雷), he joined the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) organization, and in February 1922 he formally joined the Chinese Communist Party. In September 1921, Qu Qiubai taught at the Chinese class of the Communist University of the Toilers of the East. The Chinese class trained a number of important leaders and cadres for the Chinese Communist Party, such as Liu Shaoqi (刘少奇), Ren Bishi (任弼时), and Luo Yinong (罗亦农).
During his more than two years stationed in Soviet Russia, Qu Qiubai conducted in-depth interviews in factories, villages, government organs, schools, and with people from all walks of life, writing fifty to sixty dispatches and articles; the Morning Post alone published more than forty pieces, totaling about 160,000 characters. He also produced two collections of reportage literature, Journey to the Land of Hunger and Heart History of the Red Capital. At the end of 1922, Qu Qiubai accompanied Chen Duxiu (陈独秀) and others on the return journey, arriving back in Beijing on January 13, 1923. He declined the high-salary appointment from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and accepted the Party’s work assignments, successively editing periodicals such as the quarterly New Youth, the monthly Vanguard (前锋), and the weekly Guide (向导), turning the “learn from Russia” path he had brought back from Soviet Russia into a mighty pen to awaken the workers and peasants and propel the revolution.
From Beijing to Moscow, from a newspaper’s special correspondent to a proletarian revolutionary, Qu Qiubai’s journey to Soviet Russia was both an ice-breaking path in the history of journalism and an early dissemination of Marxism-Leninism in China. Mao Zedong later said: “His spirit of working for the people, his will that did not bend even in the face of danger, and the thought preserved in his writings will live forever and will not die.”
Return to TopBy: 张德明
Martin Jacques (born 1945), a renowned British scholar and authoritative expert on the study of the Communist Party of China (中国共产党), has researched the governance practices of the contemporary Communist Party of China for more than 30 years. His published works, such as Great Power Ambition: A Never-Fading Great Power Dream (大国雄心：一个永不褪色的大国梦), have exerted broad influence worldwide. Over many years of studying China-related issues, Martin Jacques has consistently adhered to an important principle: discarding "Western-centrism" (西方中心主义) and not applying Western party templates mechanically to the Communist Party of China. His research breaks out of the rut of ideological confrontation, summarizes the achievements of the Communist Party of China over more than a century from an objective and pragmatic perspective, and analyzes its logic of governance, capacity for innovation, and global value, thereby providing the Western world with a new reference framework for understanding the Communist Party of China.
**"The Communist Party of China
Return to TopBy: 牛志奇
Lin Zexu was not only a great national hero and a pioneer in 开眼看世界 (kāi yǎn kàn shìjiè - "open eyes to see the world," one who first looked outward to understand the world) in modern times, but also a famous water-control official of his generation. Whether it was his governance of the Yellow River, the Huai River, and the Grand Canal as Governor-General of Hedong Waterways, his proposal of the governance concept of 防重于治 (fáng zhòng yú zhì - "prevention is more important than cure") while dredging the Lou River and Baimao River during his tenure in Jiangsu, or his supervision of the construction of "Lord Lin's Wells" and "Lord Lin's Canal" while banished to Xinjiang, all these record his greatest achievements in water control. In particular, when the Yellow River breached its dikes at Kaifeng during the Daoguang reign, Lin Zexu, while en route to banishment in Xinjiang, accepted the mission at a critical moment (临危受命, lín wēi shòu mìng - "face danger, receive command," to be given a mission at a critical moment). Though in adversity, he still kept the people in his heart, leading officers and civilians in day-and-night emergency rescue, disaster relief, and the successful closure of the breach. This feat entered the annals of Yellow River flood-fighting history and is remembered by history and later generations.
The Yellow River breached its dikes, and he accepted the mission at a critical moment. In June 1839, Lin Zexu's destruction of opium at Humen was a great patriotic act to combat opium smuggling and safeguard China's interests. Britain, however, used this as a pretext to brazenly dispatch troops to invade China in June 1840, launching the First Opium War to protect its opium trade interests. The Qing government, yielding to British pressure, impeached and investigated Lin Zexu on so-called charges such as "mishandling of affairs" and "laxity in military management" in hopes of securing a British withdrawal, and on July 13, 1841, decided to exile Lin Zexu to Ili.
On the sixteenth day of the sixth month of the twenty-first year of the Daoguang reign (August 2, 1841), the Yellow River dike at Zhangwan, fifteen li north of Kaifeng (then called Xiangfu Thirty-first Fort), burst, flooding Kaifeng. The city of Kaifeng was in imminent danger, and five prefectures and twenty-three counties in Henan and Anhui provinces suffered historically rare flood damage. The disaster was extremely urgent. The Daoguang Emperor immediately dispatched Imperial Commissioner and Grand Secretary Wang Ding to Kaifeng, Henan, to organize flood-fighting and rescue. After arriving in Kaifeng and seeing the situation of the Yellow River breach and the disaster, Wang Ding believed that "the river works are complex and arduous; without a high minister well-versed in dike-repair work, nothing can be accomplished. I beg your Majesty to order the exiled Lin Zexu, bound for Ili, to turn back to the Eastern River to render service and atone for his crimes."
So Wang Ding submitted a memorial to the court, strongly recommending Lin Zexu to assist in flood-fighting. The Daoguang Emperor agreed to Wang Ding's request and issued an imperial edict traveling 400 li per day, urging Lin Zexu to rush to Henan with all speed. The Draft History of Qing: Biography of Lin Zexu records, "It happened that the Yellow River breached at Kaifeng; en route, he received orders to assist in plugging the breach." A Brief Record of the Kaifeng Flood also writes that on the sixteenth day of the eighth month of the twenty-first year of Daoguang, Lin Zexu traveled day and night from Yangzhou, where he was on the road to exile, to reach Kaifeng, stationed himself at Xiangxu Sixth Fort, and immediately threw himself into flood-fighting and rescue.
After arriving in Kaifeng and seeing the urgent disaster, Lin Zexu found the situation of flood-fighting and rescue extremely severe. The floodwaters had caused countless houses inside Kaifeng city to collapse; the people were sleeping on the city walls; and the city walls themselves were collapsing one after another. Flood-fighting officers and soldiers tore down houses and demolished temples to protect the imperiled city. In his poems, he described the tragic scene: "The mournful cries of swan geese drift through the wilds; fish and dragons dance arrogantly atop the city walls." "When will the rivers and seas be clear and calm? In anxious times I often lean on the Zhongxuan Tower," unable to conceal the grief in his heart.
He supervised the work day and night and had effective methods for rescue. The Xiangfu Sixth Fort where Lin Zexu was stationed was an important section of the flood-fighting and rescue effort. He inspected the breach site in person and organized local officials, river soldiers, and disaster victims to repair the city walls, dredge the city moat, build protective dikes, and rush to repair the embankments, laboring day and night supervising the work.
The Yellow River flood-fighting and breach-closure project was enormous and the task arduous. Moreover, it was autumn and winter; if they encountered the Yellow River's ice run, it would further increase the difficulty of rescue and closure. Therefore, Lin Zexu suggested to Imperial Commissioner Wang Ding, who was directing the Kaifeng rescue, that they take advantage of the low rainfall in autumn to organize affected people on both banks to rush the construction of spur dikes. The spur dikes, extending obliquely from the bank into the river, were meant to deflect the main current, reduce the flow's force, weaken the floodwater's scouring of the breached dike, and maintain the dike's stability. The breach at Xiangfu was nearly a kilometer wide, and the floodwater's impact was extremely powerful; a direct closure attempt would easily be destroyed by the torrent. Therefore, in choosing the method of closure, Lin Zexu, drawing on his experience from inspecting the Yellow River and conducting rescue operations when he served as Governor-General of Hedong Waterways in 1831, decided to first build multiple spur dikes in batches to divert the flow, then commence construction of the main dam, the upper auxiliary dam, and the lower auxiliary dam, and dig a diversion channel. Next, they would bind fascines in sections to build dams and seal the dragon's mouth, greatly reducing the impact force of the burst water, avoiding repeated collapses and rework, and shortening the closure工期 by over a hundred days.
In addition, Lin Zexu also proposed the work guidelines of 勤、慎、廉、和 (qín, shèn, lián, hé - "diligence, caution, integrity, harmony") for flood-fighting, meaning that "in all matters at the work site, one should always act with the four words: diligence, caution, integrity, and harmony, and then superiors and subordinates will all be suitable." That is, all matters of river management should be conducted with these four principles: diligently remaining at the worksite, prudently handling materials, conducting oneself with integrity in public service, and harmonizing the people, so that officials, clerks, and laborers can work with one heart and the project can proceed smoothly. These four-character guidelines were fully applied in the Kaifeng rescue and later became an important reference for Yellow River flood-fighting and river works management.
By this time, Lin Zexu was nearly sixty years old, weak and often ill. Because of his hard work and rushing about at the flood-fighting site, he eventually suffered from overwork and contracted nasal ailments, spleen diarrhea, and other illnesses, but he still persisted in his duties and fought on the front line of flood-fighting and rescue. A Brief Record of the Kaifeng Flood records his true image on the front line: "On the river, he labored day and night; all matters relied on his planning and strategizing." Lin Zexu lived on the river dike, toiling day and night; all affairs of the river works, large and small, depended on his overall planning. Supplement to the Collection of Biographical Inscriptions records the scene of Lin Zexu fighting day and night alongside the flood-fighting officials and people: "Day and night he sat together with the soldiers and shared their baskets and spades." Lin Zexu remained stationed on the river dike all day and all night, carrying baskets and wielding shovels together with the laborers and soldiers, digging earth and building dikes, sharing hardships with everyone. Lin Zexu also actively organized disaster relief, checking the disaster at the Kaifeng worksite, investigating the number of victims, and using work-relief methods to aid the victims, earning the praise and affection of the people of Kaifeng.
Under scientific and effective flood-fighting guidance, Lin Zexu and the flood-fighting officials and people fought day and night, and finally the disaster situation improved more and more. Later, Wang Ding's report to the court showed, "As of the first day of the eleventh month, the west dam had been built to 33 zhang, and the spur dike had been built to 31 zhang. As for the various diversion channels, in total more than three-tenths had been dredged." During the flood-fighting period, Lin Zexu led the people in constructing a flood-control dike 8,756 meters long over more than five months to seal the breach. On the eighth day of the second month of the twenty-second year of Daoguang (March 19, 1842), the Yellow River breach was finally closed. At this point, the Yellow River returned to its old course, and this flood disaster was eliminated.
He benefited the people and his name went down in history. After the Yellow River breach was successfully sealed and the dike closure completed, Wang Ding specially reported to the court, enumerating Lin Zexu's key role in the rescue and closure. The memorial stated, "Lin Zexu assisted in the river works and proved deeply capable and effective," asking for merit to be recorded and his crimes atoned, and requesting that Lin Zexu be allowed to stay and continue handling river work matters because of his detailed knowledge of water conservancy. But the Daoguang Emperor upheld the original sentence, ordering Lin Zexu to "still be sent to Ili to render service and atone for his crimes." Upon receiving the imperial edict, Wang Ding was greatly shocked and voiced his grievance on Lin Zexu's behalf. "When the people heard of it, they wrung their hands and sighed, and many wept." Lin Zexu, however, remained calm and unperturbed, bearing no resentment, and set off on the long journey to Ili, ten thousand li away. Lin Zexu arrived in Xi'an, made a brief rest, bid farewell to his wife and children, and wrote the immortal lines, 苟利国家生死以，岂因祸福避趋之 (gǒu lì guójiā shēngsǐ yǐ, qǐ yīn huòfú bì qū zhī - "If it benefits the nation, I would stake my life on it; how could I shirk or pursue it based on personal gain or loss?"), expressing his feelings for the people and his devotion to the country. This feeling of family and country, where even in adversity he still kept the people in his heart, was not only reflected in the Yellow River flood-fighting and rescue during his banishment to Xinjiang, but also ran through the water conservancy projects he undertook during his subsequent exile in Xinjiang.
After arriving in Xinjiang, Lin Zexu still kept the people in his heart and supervised the construction of numerous water conservancy projects to benefit Xinjiang. The Draft History of Qing: Biography of Lin Zexu records that he "traveled throughout the eight southern cities, dredged water sources, opened canals, and reclaimed over 37,000 qing of farmland." He supervised the construction of the Aqiwusu Grand Canal in Ili (Lord Lin's Canal), irrigating 200,000 mu of wasteland, and conducted on-site surveys of the Turpan karez wells, carrying out standardized improvements and large-scale promotion, which later generations called "Lord Lin's Wells." During his time in Xinjiang, Lin Zexu also traversed the entire southern Xinjiang region to survey hydrology, systematically planned military-agricultural water conservancy, consolidated the borderlands by developing water resources and agricultural colonies, and left behind water conservancy projects still in use today, making an indelible contribution to Xinjiang's water conservancy development and economic and social progress.
Lin Zexu's deeds of flood-fighting on the Yellow River during his journey into exile in Xinjiang are a microcosm of his lifelong dedication to the nation's water conservancy cause, highlighting his achievements and wisdom in river control, and also a true reflection of his patriotism that put the nation first, his spirit of shouldering responsibilities without avoiding hardships, and his dedication to serving the people wholeheartedly.
Return to TopXinhua News Agency, Beijing, July 22 — The Conference of Presidents of National Party Schools (Central Party School/National Academy of Governance) was held in Beijing on the 22nd. Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and President of the Central Party School (National Academy of Governance), attended the meeting and delivered a speech. He emphasized that it is necessary to deeply study and implement Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, study and implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's important expositions on the work of party schools, further profoundly comprehend the decisive significance of the "two establishes," resolutely achieve the "two upholds," strengthen the principle that party schools belong to the Party, keep the original mission of party schools firmly in mind, show keen enterprising spirit and pioneering innovation, continuously open up new prospects for party school work in the new era, and contribute wisdom and strength toward the unremitting advancement of exercising full and rigorous Party self-governance, building a high-quality contingent of cadres who are loyal, clean, and responsible, and promoting the steady and long-term progress of Chinese modernization.
Cai Qi pointed out that since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has attached great importance to the cause of party schools; General Secretary Xi Jinping has made a series of important instructions, which have pointed out the direction and provided important guidance for doing well the work of party schools in the new era. As the Party's school, the main battlefield for cadre education and training, and an important auxiliary force on the Party's ideological and theoretical front, party schools must deeply study and implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech on July 1, study and implement Xi Jinping's thought on Party building, and take the lead in demonstrating and moving forward in deep study and thorough understanding, research, publicity, interpretation, and the application of learning to practice.
Cai Qi emphasized that it is necessary to closely grasp the tasks of cultivating talent for the Party and providing advice for the Party to improve teaching and scientific research levels. One must focus on grasping the education of the Party's innovative theories, insist on combining theory with practice, insist on teaching according to classifications, and achieve full coverage of training where training is required. One must grasp Party spirit education, strengthen training in knowledge of Party spirit and strict training in intra-Party political life, and form work mechanisms that reflect the characteristics of party schools and are effective in practice, helping trainees enhance their concepts of Party spirit and improve their Party spirit cultivation. One must set up special topics focusing on tasks such as promoting high-quality development, strengthening social governance, and coordinating development and security, and grasp training in the capacity to perform duties. One must grasp theoretical research and decision-making consultation, focusing on deepening the systematic and theoretical research and interpretation of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, conducting countermeasure research to respond to urgent practical needs, following closely the process of the Party's theoretical innovation and practical development to optimize discipline construction, and promoting the construction of a Chinese independent knowledge system.
Cai Qi pointed out that it is necessary to persist in and strengthen the Party's comprehensive leadership over the work of party schools; Party committees at all levels must earnestly implement the primary responsibility of running, managing, and building party schools, performing their duties in grasping direction, coordinating overall efforts, strengthening leadership teams, and advancing work, and effectively implementing the Party's leadership into every process and aspect of running and managing the school. One must always persist in strictly governing the school, strengthen the construction of leadership teams and the contingent of cadres and talents, strictly implement the responsibility system for ideological work, strictly strengthen work style construction and discipline construction, vigorously promote the style of learning, the style of simplicity, and the style of clarity, and promote the comprehensive progress of party schools of all levels and various types.
Return to TopNewspaper dispatch. On July 21, the 17th Forum on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics and the 8th National Symposium on Teaching, Research, and Think Tank Work of Marxist Colleges of Party Schools (Schools of Administration), sponsored by the Marxist College of the Central Party School (National Academy of Governance) (中央党校（国家行政学院）马克思主义学院) and the China Marxist Research Foundation (中国马克思主义研究基金会), and hosted by the Party School of Jiangsu Provincial Committee (School of Administration) (江苏省委党校（行政学院）), were held in Nanjing. Yang Ming (杨明), Executive Vice President (Vice Dean) of the Party School of Jiangsu Provincial Committee (School of Administration), and Li Haiqing (李海青), Vice Dean of the Marxist College of the Central Party School (National Academy of Governance), attended the opening ceremony of the forum and delivered speeches. Xue Weijiang (薛伟江), full-time Deputy Secretary of the General Party Branch of the Marxist College of the Central Party School (National Academy of Governance) and Secretary-General of the China Marxist Research Foundation, presided over the opening ceremony. A total of more than 130 representatives from Marxist colleges of Party schools (Schools of Administration) nationwide and specially invited guests participated in the meeting.
The theme of this forum was “The Party’s Innovative Theory and the Construction of an Independent Knowledge System — Celebrating the 105th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China.” Yang Ming pointed out that focusing on the systematic and theoretical research and interpretation of the Party’s innovative theory requires starting from academic foundations, practical orientation, international perspective, and historical dimension, with emphasis on promoting research on iconic major concepts, original ideological viewpoints, and principled theoretical achievements. Constructing an independent knowledge system for Chinese philosophy and social sciences (中国哲学社会科学自主知识体系) must properly handle the relationships between the general and the particular, between the knowledge system and the value system, and between knowledge construction and concern for the people. Li Haiqing pointed out that Chinese-style modernization continuously addresses the issues of the times in the course of development, establishing a clear problem orientation for the prosperity and development of Chinese philosophy and social sciences. The theoretical achievements and practical accomplishments of Chinese-style modernization have laid a solid foundation and provided the main content for the innovative development of Chinese philosophy and social sciences. In the process of Chinese-style modernization, it is necessary to make full use of the three resources of Marxism, fine traditional Chinese culture, and foreign philosophy and social sciences to promote the innovative development of Chinese philosophy and social sciences.
Participating experts delivered keynote speeches in two stages around the conference theme. Experts and scholars including Han Qingxiang (韩庆祥), former member of the School Affairs Committee of the Central Party School and first-level professor of national philosophy and social sciences; Xin Xiangyang (辛向阳), former President of the Institute of Marxism of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Guo Jianning (郭建宁), former Dean of the School of Marxism of Peking University; Qin Gang (秦刚), former Director of the Teaching and Research Department of Scientific Socialism of the Central Party School (National Academy of Governance) and Editor-in-Chief of Theoretical Perspective; Pei Zeqing (裴泽庆), Vice President (Vice Dean) of the Party School of Sichuan Provincial Committee (School of Administration); Li Haixing (李海星), Vice President (Vice Dean) of the Party School of Fujian Provincial Committee (School of Administration); Lan Hanlin (蓝汉林), Vice President (Vice Dean) of the Party School of Zhejiang Provincial Committee (School of Administration); and Song Fufan (宋福范), Professor of the Institute of Ideological and Political Education of the Marxist College of the Central Party School (National Academy of Governance), engaged in discussions on topics including Xi Jinping’s thought on Party building (习近平党建思想), the intrinsic relationship between the Party’s innovative theory and the independent knowledge system, constructing an independent knowledge system for Chinese philosophy and social sciences, and the history and theory of communist parties worldwide.
The afternoon symposium took as its theme “The Situation, Tasks, and Strategic Thinking for the Construction of Marxist Colleges of Party Schools (Schools of Administration) Nationwide during the 15th Five-Year Plan Period,” and set up four sub-forums. Participating experts and scholars engaged in in-depth discussion and exchange on collaborative mechanisms, teaching-research-consulting work, discipline construction, team building, and Party building work for the construction and development of Marxist colleges of Party schools (Schools of Administration) nationwide. At the closing ceremony, Li Junwei (李俊伟), Director of the Institute of Ideological and Political Education of the Marxist College of the Central Party School (National Academy of Governance), delivered a concluding speech.
The participants unanimously believed that constructing an independent knowledge system for Chinese philosophy and social sciences is a major mission for theoretical workers in the new era. It is necessary to adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era (习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想), uphold and strengthen the overall leadership of the Party, base ourselves on China’s reality, respond to China’s problems, summarize China’s experience, and refine Chinese concepts, strengthen the systematic and theoretical research and interpretation of the Party’s innovative theory, use the Party’s innovative theory to lead the construction of an independent knowledge system, and contribute more wisdom and strength to the construction of Chinese-style modernization. Everyone unanimously expressed that the forum deepened the understanding of the intrinsic logic between the Party’s innovative theory and the construction of China’s independent knowledge system, and has practical significance for promoting the high-quality development of Marxist colleges of Party schools (Schools of Administration) nationwide and enhancing the integrated construction level of teaching, research, and think tanks.
(Wang Huijuan (王慧娟))
News Report
Guangdong Provincial Party School (Administration College) (广东省委党校（行政学院）) thoroughly studies and implements General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important exposition on establishing and practicing a correct view on political achievements, incorporates study and education as an important part of the main training class teaching, promotes the broad student body in building a solid ideological foundation through deep study and careful understanding, and calibrates the coordinates of political achievements through steadfast practice and solid work, effectively transforming the political pursuit of “benefiting the people” into vivid practice of high-quality development.
Highlight the First Lesson to Cast the Soul. Adhere to taking the deep study and thorough understanding of the Party’s innovative theory as the primary political task, and take the first lesson of the semester as a key measure to strengthen political guidance. On March 23, the special study seminar for the leadership of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee on establishing and practicing a correct view on political achievements, together with the opening ceremony of the 2026 spring semester of the Guangdong Provincial Party School (Administration College), was held at the new campus. Huang Kunming, Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee and President (Dean) of the Guangdong Provincial Party School (Administration College), attended and delivered a special guidance report and mobilization speech, emphasizing the need to deeply study and thoroughly understand Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, follow the general requirements of “establishing the Party for the public, benefiting the people, making scientific decisions, and working hard and practically,” earnestly grasp study and education, and strive to create real achievements that can withstand the test of practice, the people, and history. The speech generated enthusiastic reactions among the students.
Strengthen Thematic Teaching. Promptly incorporate the study and education on establishing and practicing a correct view on political achievements into teaching content, set up a Party spirit and work style education unit in main training classes with a study period of more than one month, organize a cross-department collective lesson preparation meeting on “General Secretary Xi Jinping’s Important Exposition on Establishing and Practicing a Correct View on Political Achievements,” and strive to enhance the political height, theoretical depth, and practical thickness of the courses. The produced Party member education TV film, Taking Benefiting the People as the Greatest Political Achievement, won the first prize in the 8th Guangdong Province Party Member Education TV Film Observation and Exchange Activity, and was promoted as a high-quality resource to all Party members and cadres in the province. Invite authoritative experts from the Central Party School (National Academy of Governance) (中央党校（国家行政学院）) to give lectures, hold high-end lectures, prestigious expert reports, immersive audio-visual Party lessons, etc., organize students to go to Jiangsu, Fujian, Anhui and other places for off-site study, organize middle-aged and young cadres class students to conduct stationing practice at the front line and provincial directly affiliated units, forming a multi-dimensional, three-dimensional teaching matrix, continuously improving the quality and effectiveness of teaching and training.
Persist in Linking Learning, Inspection, and Rectification. Organize student Party branches to conduct in-depth study of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions through methods such as the “Three Meetings and One Lesson” (三会一课), themed Party days, group discussions, forums and lectures, and carry out immersive and interactive learning exchanges. Organize students in key classes such as the departmental and bureau-level cadres advanced class, the county and division-level cadres advanced class, and the middle-aged and young cadres training class to conduct in-depth Party spirit analysis around establishing and practicing a correct view on political achievements, accurately identify problems, list them, and grasp rectification and improvement.
Strictly Manage and Govern Studies. Adhere to strict governance of the school, strict governance of teaching, and strict governance of study, focus on the entire process and all elements of student management, strengthen rigid constraints from aspects such as political discipline, Party spirit education, study management, organizational management, and life management. Carefully select and assign a team of class advisors with high political quality, strong professional ability, and good work style and image, implement full-process class follow-up, dynamic tracking, and precise service, achieve the ability to dare to grasp and dare to manage, strictly grasp and strictly manage, adeptly grasp and adeptly manage, and ensure learning effectiveness through whole-chain fine management.
Return to TopNews dispatch from this newspaper: From July 18 to 19, the nationwide Party Schools (Schools of Administration) "Promoting the Construction of Socialist Democratic Rule of Law" theory seminar was convened in Nyingchi City (林芝市), Tibet Autonomous Region.
This seminar was hosted by the Teaching and Research Department of Politics and Law of the Central Party School (National Academy of Governance), undertaken by the Party School of the Tibet Autonomous Region Committee (School of Administration), and co-organized by the Nyingchi Municipal Party School (School of Administration). Over 140 experts and scholars from the Party School (School of Administration) system participated in the meeting.
At the seminar, 12 Party School experts and scholars successively delivered exchange speeches, with the content of the speeches covering multiple disciplines such as political science, law, and discipline inspection and supervision studies. In the group discussion sessions, the attending scholars engaged in in-depth discussions around themes such as "Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law," "Departmental Law Theory," "Democratic Theory and Political Construction," and "Party Construction and Grassroots Governance." Combining their respective research directions, they explored how, in the new era, to empower the modernization of national governance and serve Chinese-style modernization through the construction of democratic rule of law.
The attending representatives unanimously agreed that this seminar deepened the grasp of the core essence of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law and further clarified the theoretical connotation and practical path of whole-process people's democracy. Everyone expressed in succession that they must uphold the original aspiration of the Party School to "educate talents for the Party and offer counsel for the Party," adhere to integrating theory with practice, focus on practical issues of democracy and the rule of law, firmly grasp cadre training and theoretical interpretation, and continuously contribute the wisdom and strength of the Party School to advancing Chinese-style modernization.
Return to TopBy: 刘晓吾
A high-quality cadre contingent is the key force in advancing Chinese modernization (中国式现代化). Whether cadres' capabilities and competencies can achieve a structural leap in keeping with the times directly determines the quality and effectiveness of transforming institutional advantages into governance efficacy. On the new journey of the new era, it is urgent to systematically forge the履职能力 (performance capacity) of new-era cadres that aligns with the requirements of Chinese modernization.
Temper political capability
Political initiative is the most advantageous initiative. On the new journey, the interrelatedness of risks and challenges, the profundity of adjustments in the pattern of interests, and the complexity of ideological struggle are unprecedented, placing higher demands on cadres' political judgment, political comprehension, and political execution.
The foundation for enhancing political capability lies in the thoroughness of theoretical armed. It is necessary to deeply integrate intensive reading of original works with thematic study, deeply study and thoroughly comprehend the latest achievements in the Party's innovative theory, grasp the core essence around the major decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee, and build a closed loop of transformation that "integrates learning, thinking, and application; unites knowledge, conviction, and action" (学思用贯通、知信行统一). It is worth noting that currently, some cadres' theoretical study exhibits tendencies toward "superficialization" (浅表化) and "labeling" (标签化). The way to resolve this lies in adhering to a problem-oriented approach, promoting the embedding of immersive methods such as case teaching and scenario simulation throughout the entire process of cadre education, guiding cadres to step out of the comfort zone of "studying for the sake of studying," and truly transforming the essence of theory into scientific thinking for planning work and effective measures for promoting implementation, achieving deep integration of theoretical armed with the practice of modernization.
Political capability is by no means empty talk; it must be tempered into steel in the furnace of practice. Systematically and planned, cadres should be placed in challenging posts where contradictions are concentrated, tasks are heavy, and challenges are severe, to weather storms, see the world, and strengthen their bones (经风雨、见世面、壮筋骨). In resolving interest conflicts, preventing major risks, and promoting implementation of tough tasks, they cultivate political composure and hone their ability to struggle.
The construction of political capability must be solidified with institutional rigidity. With the guidance of establishing and practicing a correct view on performance, improve the evaluation and selection mechanism for cadres, clearly establishing the orientation of "valuing real work, real achievements, and real responsibility" (重实干、重实绩、重担当). Examine both visible achievements and latent achievements; weigh both the present and the long term. In cadre selection and appointment, focus on identifying tendency problems such as deviations in performance view, overemphasis on short-term gains over long-term development. For cadres with mismatched political capability or deviations in performance orientation, resolutely make adjustments. Strive to build a quantitative assessment and dynamic monitoring mechanism for political capability, making political capability identifiable, comparable, and testable, thereby forcing the formation of a political ecology that is upright and clean, and conducive to work and entrepreneurship (风清气正、干事创业的政治生态).
Ability to promote high-quality development
Currently, with profound adjustment of economic structure, accelerated iteration of industrial forms, and the correlation and transmission of risks and hidden dangers, the supply of professional capabilities of some cadres has clearly lagged behind practical changes. Systematically filling professional shortcomings and enhancing governance capacity is the only way to truly shoulder the responsibility of the era in promoting high-quality development.
Professional competence is the foundational support for managing high-quality development. It is necessary to closely follow the frontier trends of productivity evolution, reshape cadres' knowledge structure around key fields such as digital economy, artificial intelligence, modern finance, green industries, and international trade. Relying on typical practical cases, innovate teaching methods, set up multi-dimensional complex scenarios, and conduct scenario simulation and practical war gaming. In compound performance situations, hone comprehensive abilities in systematic thinking, overall coordination, balancing interests, and cross-domain synergy.
High-level security is an important guarantee for advancing high-quality development. In the process of Chinese modernization, the superposition effect, amplification effect, and chain transmission effect of various risks and hidden dangers are increasingly prominent, placing higher demands on cadres' sensitivity in risk perception, accuracy in analysis, and decisiveness in response. Focus on key areas such as urban operation, public safety, disaster prevention and mitigation, deeply analyze typical cases, break down luck-based thinking and discard paralytic thinking from accident reviews, and always maintain a sense of responsibility of being "always concerned and unable to rest assured" (时时放心不下). At the same time, regularly conduct emergency response drills, temper organizational command abilities in coordinating resources, directing various forces, and quickly resolving dangers, using bottom-line thinking to stabilize the overall situation of high-quality development.
Public opinion guidance capability is an indispensable "soft power" for high-quality development. The digital wave has profoundly reshaped the pattern of public opinion; online public opinion has become a key variable affecting the effectiveness of social governance and the environment for career development. It is necessary to actively adapt to the pattern of intelligent communication, make good use of intelligent platforms to build a full-chain mechanism of public opinion perception, analysis and early warning, and rapid response, promoting deep integration of online public opinion clues with offline risk investigation. Closely monitor key areas and critical periods, accurately capture emerging and tendency problems, and build a public opinion work system with full coverage, dynamic analysis, and closed-loop response. Through regular case reviews and drill training, comprehensively enhance comprehensive abilities in authoritative information release, guidance of negative topics, and social emotional guidance, firmly grasping the initiative in ideological work.
Enhance digital performance capability
Currently, digital technology has been deeply embedded in the fabric of economic and social operation, driving a systemic reshaping of governance models, a fundamental transformation of working methods, and a multi-dimensional expansion of channels for expressing public demands. Digitalization has become a distinctive marker of Chinese modernization. Whether cadres can establish digital thinking, master digital methods, and make good use of digital empowerment has become an important criterion for measuring cadre performance capability.
Reshaping digital thinking concepts is the internal foundation for enhancing digital capability. The essence of digital thinking is a leap from fuzzy judgment dominated by experience to precise governance driven by data, from lagging response of passive reaction to forward-looking governance of proactive prediction, ultimately achieving a deep transformation of thinking modes from linear causality to systemic correlation, from static closure to dynamic openness. Based on the actual performance of cadres at different levels and in different positions, customize capability cultivation content by category: highlight the digital strategic planning and governance pattern construction capability of leading cadres, and strengthen the cultivation of thinking for grassroots cadres to use digital means to solve practical problems. Step out of the traditional classroom lecture model, enter the practical scenarios of smart governance, and through immersive methods such as case review, sandtable exercise, and role-playing, guide cadres to internalize digital thinking in the entire process of decision-making planning, implementation, and risk prevention.
Perfecting the digital capability cultivation system focuses on consolidating the cognition of performance practice. Depth of cognition determines effectiveness of action. The extent to which leading cadres grasp the internal laws of digital governance directly affects the quality and effectiveness of digital practice. It is necessary to systematically sort out the practical achievements of digital governance, condense them into a textbook system and practical case library that meet the learning needs of cadres, and clarify the operational logic and application scenarios of various digital governance carriers through process decomposition and scenario analysis. Regularly hold special forums and case review exchange meetings, build an experience-sharing platform for deep integration of digital technology and business work, transforming abstract data concepts into perceivable, referable, and replicable performance methodologies. Strengthen cross-departmental exchange and discussion, break down industry barriers and cognitive biases, accurately grasp the conjunction between the overall layout of digital construction and job responsibilities, avoiding "digital islands" and redundant construction.
Highlight the integration of training and combat (训战融合), forging digital practical skills. The key to capability formation lies in actual combat. The tempering of digital skills especially needs repeated practice in real situations. Innovate an integrated training model of "theoretical lecture—case decomposition—on-site practice" (理论授课—案例拆解—现场实操), set up special courses closely following the overall deployment of Digital China construction, and implement tiered and categorized precision teaching. Relying on professional training platforms, around high-frequency application scenarios such as livelihood services, grassroots governance, risk monitoring, and government affairs processing, fully restore the full-chain process of data collection, analysis and assessment, and application implementation, enhancing cadres' digital application capability, intelligent analysis capability, and collaborative governance capability through practical training.
[Author is the Executive Vice President (Deputy Dean) of the Party School (School of Governance) of the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the CPC]
Return to TopNews report. On July 15, the Shaanxi Provincial Party School (Administration Institute) (陕西省委党校（行政学院）) held a work promotion meeting on Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building (习近平党建思想) “entering teaching materials, entering classrooms, entering minds” (进教材、进课堂、进头脑), to study and deploy the key tasks of curriculum system construction and teaching training. Executive Vice President (Vice Dean) Fan Yongbin (范永斌) attended the meeting and delivered a speech, and Vice President (Vice Dean) Zhang Shoukui (张首魁) presided.
The meeting conveyed the situation of the national Party School (Administration Institute) collective lesson preparation meeting on Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building, introduced the research situation of the Shaanxi Provincial Party School (Administration Institute) on the curriculum system of Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building and recent related teaching training work plans, and solicited opinions and suggestions from the attending experts on constructing and improving the curriculum system of Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building.
The meeting pointed out that Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building is the theoretical crystallization of the practice of the great new project of Party building in the new era, and integrating this thought as the primary political task into the entire process of cadre education and training is the 义不容辞 (yì bù róng cí - “duty cannot be declined,” an unshirkable) political responsibility of the Party School (Administration Institute). It is necessary to deeply grasp the scientific connotation, core essence, and practical requirements of the “Fourteen Perseverances” (十四个坚持), and comprehensively advance the work of Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building “entering teaching materials, entering classrooms, entering minds,” ensuring that theoretical teaching is fully and accurately explained, deeply and thoroughly explained.
The meeting emphasized that we must raise our stance, firmly shoulder political responsibility, effectively unify thoughts and actions with the decisions of the Party Central Committee and the deployment requirements of the Provincial Party Committee, and take Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building as a required course for Party members and cadres; we must 多措并举 (duō cuò bìng jǔ - “multiple measures simultaneously,” take multiple measures together), comprehensively grasp implementation, improve the curriculum system, solidify the setting of teaching units in main training sessions and supporting seminars for specialized courses, ensuring full coverage of learning content; we must strengthen characteristics, create teaching highlights, deeply tap the contemporary value of Shaanxi’s red resources and the Yan’an Spirit, innovate carriers, and highlight Shaanxi characteristics on the basis of standardization; we must solidly promote, strive for 精益求精 (jīng yì qiú jīng - “always strive for perfection”), and in textbook compilation, lecture draft polishing, and teacher training, carry out 精雕细琢 (jīng diāo xì zhuó - “fine carving and careful polishing,” meticulous refinement), forming characteristic teaching brands, and vigorously sprint toward the goals of national excellent courses and teaching awards.
The meeting demanded that we must walk in front and set an example in studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building, give full play to the unique value and leading role of the Party School (Administration Institute), accelerate the improvement of the curriculum system and the transformation of scientific research and policy advisory achievements, carry out basic training by levels and categories, promote the joint construction and sharing of high-quality courses, and enhance the overall level of Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building teaching in the province’s Party Schools (Administration Institutes) and related fields.
Return to TopThe Regulations on the Work of Party Schools of the Communist Party of China (Academies of Governance) clearly require that “Party schools (academies of governance) should strive to innovate teaching methods and vigorously promote research-oriented teaching.” Practice has proven that, in the face of new situations, new tasks, and new requirements, the traditional one-way灌输式 teaching method can no longer meet demand. The Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee Party School (Academy of Governance) has piloted research-oriented teaching in its main training classes. Through systematic curriculum design, closed-loop teaching management, and coordinated support and cooperation, it enables cadres to learn through research, improve through practice, actively construct a teaching model that mutually reinforces teaching and research, and provide strong support for enhancing the ability of leading cadres to advance modernization.
Systematic curriculum design. Research-oriented teaching, as a problem-oriented teaching method that focuses on cultivating trainees’ investigation and research capabilities and innovative thinking, and that guides trainees to actively explore and conduct in-depth research to acquire knowledge and improve comprehensive abilities, differs from traditional teaching in its autonomous teaching subject, problem-oriented teaching content, and exploratory teaching process. Based on this, the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee Party School, in its curriculum design, firmly establishes systematic thinking, adopts the “theory–practice–transformation” curriculum design concept, and constructs a curriculum system that mutually reinforces teaching and research. First, at the theoretical level, it achieves precise alignment between research topics and course modules, forming a virtuous cycle of “research relies on teaching – teaching supports research – research feeds back into teaching.” The teaching of the Party’s innovative theory follows the basic logic of “general introduction + sub-topics + special topics + case studies,” creating a teaching system that integrates theoretical origins, scientific connotations, and local practice. For competency training, it offers specialized courses such as “Improving Investigation and Research Capabilities,” “Consulting Research Guidance,” and Tian Jiaying’s Harmony Investigation (田家英和合调查), to consolidate cadres’ basic skills. Second, at the practical level, it emphasizes actual combat tempering. Through activities such as “Investigation and Research Practical Combat Training” and “Consulting Salons,” trainees deepen their understanding of the selection of consulting research topics, program design, and other aspects in simulated combat. At the same time, closely focusing on the central work of the provincial Party committee and provincial government, it invites experts and scholars to give courses that combine theoretical orientation and policy research orientation, integrating the latest research results and cutting-edge dynamics into the classroom, empowering teaching content with scientific research achievements, and ensuring that the teaching system is highly aligned with current work priorities. Third, at the transformation level, it opens up the “last mile” from research reports to consulting reports. By leveraging various resources, it actively opens channels for the dissemination and submission of results, so that trainees’ research results are precisely aligned with the needs of policy formulation, making trainees’ research results truly provide strong reference and support for policy formulation, and truly realizing the “integration of research and application.”
Closed-loop teaching management. It implements the closed-loop model of “teaching raises topics, research produces articles, trainees participate, results enter the classroom and decision-making,” organically integrating and mutually promoting teaching, research, and consulting. The topic selection stage highlights problem orientation. The teaching management department determines a list of topics based on the curriculum system and matches professional teachers. Trainees determine research topics in combination with the central work of the Party committee and government, the concerns of the people, the focal issues of economic and social development, and their own professional backgrounds, ensuring that the research direction is “connected to the antenna above and grounded in the soil below.” The teaching process implements a standardized “six-step” procedure: formulating a list of topics, determining group topics, designing research plans, conducting field investigations and research, producing research reports, and exchanging and applying results. During the process, various methods such as structured discussion, case analysis, and action learning are flexibly used. Based on the established procedures and steps, optimizations and adjustments can be made according to teaching needs and progress, ensuring both teaching standardization and fully releasing trainees’ space for independent exploration, achieving relatively significant teaching results. The evaluation mechanism emphasizes outcome orientation. The participation of trainees in research-oriented teaching and their results are included in the learning assessment, effectively stimulating trainees’ enthusiasm and creativity, and forming a positive atmosphere of 比学赶超 (bǐ xué gǎn chāo - “compare, learn, catch up, surpass,” to emulate and surpass).
Coordinated support and cooperation. The implementation of research-oriented teaching requires the cooperation and joint efforts of the trainees, teachers, and the teaching management department. Trainees are the core subjects of research-oriented teaching. By forming cross-departmental research groups, experience sharing and mutual learning are promoted, guiding trainees to focus on the central overall situation, go down to the grassroots level, get close to the masses, and improve their performance capabilities in solving practical problems. Teachers play the role of guides and instructors in research-oriented teaching. During the teaching process, they jointly research and determine topics and content with trainees, precisely guide trainees to identify cruxes, analyze causes, and propose countermeasures, and use academic theory to comment and guide, helping trainees fill gaps in knowledge, shortcomings in ability, and weak points in experience, and enhancing the theoretical depth and systematic level of the research. The teaching management department undertakes the responsibility of resource coordination and guarantee. By studying the central work and the “two brings” (两带来) problems of trainees, it conducts needs research and precisely formulates a list of topics; establishes a regular communication mechanism, jointly discusses teaching progress, deeply understands the needs and difficulties of both parties in teaching practice, promptly optimizes and adjusts teaching plans, and coordinates resources and guarantees; strengthens business coordination among teaching management departments, achieving resonance at the same frequency, and building a platform for trainees and teachers to participate in research and consulting work, promoting the effective connection of teaching, research, and consulting.
(Tian Ying (田瀛))
Return to TopBy: 刘晓吾
A high-quality cadre contingent is a key force in advancing Chinese-style modernization (中国式现代化). Whether cadres' capabilities and competencies can achieve a structural leap in keeping with the times directly determines the quality and effectiveness of transforming institutional advantages into governance effectiveness. On the new journey of the new era, it is urgently necessary to systematically forge the履职 capabilities of cadres in the new era that meet the requirements of Chinese-style modernization.
Temper political capability
Political initiative is the most advantageous initiative. On the new journey, the interconnectedness of risks and challenges, the profundity of adjustments to the interest structure, and the complexity of ideological struggle are unprecedented, placing higher demands on cadres' political discernment, political comprehension, and political execution.
Enhancing political capability is rooted in the thoroughness of theoretical armed. It is necessary to adhere to the deep integration of intensive reading of original works and thematic research, deeply study and thoroughly understand the latest achievements of the Party's innovative theories, grasp the core essence around the major decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee, and build a closed-loop transformation of "integrating learning, thinking, and application; unifying knowledge, conviction, and action." It is worth noting that currently, some cadres' theoretical learning shows a tendency toward "superficialization" and "labeling." The way to solve this lies in adhering to a problem-oriented approach, promoting the embedding of immersive methods such as case teaching and scenario simulation throughout the entire process of cadre education, guiding cadres to jump out of the comfort zone of "learning for the sake of learning," and truly transform the essence of theory into scientific ideas for planning work and effective measures for promoting implementation, achieving deep integration of theoretical armed with the practice of modernization.
Political capability is by no means empty talk; it must be tempered into steel in the furnace of practice. It is necessary to systematically and plannedly place cadres in demanding positions where contradictions are concentrated, tasks are heavy, and challenges are severe, to weather storms, see the world, and strengthen their backbone, cultivating political steadfastness and tempering fighting skills in resolving interest conflicts, preventing major risks, and promoting the implementation of tough tasks.
Political capability building must be consolidated through institutional rigidity. Guided by establishing and practicing a correct view of performance, improve the assessment, evaluation, and cadre selection and appointment mechanisms, clearly establish the orientation of "valuing solid work, real results, and real responsibility," looking at both explicit achievements and implicit achievements, and valuing both the present and the long term. In cadre selection and appointment, focus on identifying tendencies such as deviations in the view of performance and prioritizing short-term over long-term results. For cadres whose political capability does not match or whose履职 orientation is deviated, resolutely adjust them. Strive to build a quantitative assessment and dynamic monitoring mechanism for political capability, making political capability identifiable, comparable, and verifiable, thereby forcing the formation of a political ecology that is clean and honest, and conducive to entrepreneurship.
Capability to promote high-quality development
Currently, the economic structure is undergoing deep adjustment, industrial forms are accelerating their iteration, and risk hazards are interconnected and transmitted. Some cadres' professional capability supply clearly lags behind practical changes. Systematically filling professional shortcomings and enhancing governance capability is the only way to truly shoulder the era's responsibility of promoting high-quality development.
Professional competence is the basic support for steering high-quality development. It is necessary to closely follow the frontier trends of productivity evolution, reshape cadres' knowledge structure around key areas such as the digital economy, artificial intelligence, modern finance, green industries, and international trade and economy, innovate teaching methods based on typical practical cases, set up multi-dimensional complex scenarios, and carry out scenario simulation and practical exercises. In complex履职 situations, temper comprehensive abilities in systematic thinking, overall coordination, interest balancing, and cross-domain synergy.
High-level security is an important guarantee for promoting high-quality development. In the process of Chinese-style modernization, the superposition effect, amplification effect, and chain conduction effect of various risk hazards are increasingly prominent, placing higher demands on cadres' sensitivity to risk perception, accuracy of judgment, and decisiveness in handling. It is necessary to focus on key areas such as urban operation, public safety, and disaster prevention and mitigation, deeply analyze typical cases, break the mentality of luck and abandon the mindset of paralysis from accident reviews, and always maintain a sense of responsibility of "always being concerned." At the same time, regularly conduct emergency response drills to temper the organizational and command capability of coordinating resource allocation, coordinating forces from all sides, and quickly resolving dangers, using bottom-line thinking to stabilize the overall situation of high-quality development.
Public opinion guidance capability is an indispensable "soft power" for high-quality development. The digital wave is profoundly reshaping the pattern of public opinion, and online public opinion has become a key variable affecting the effectiveness of social governance and the environment for career development. It is necessary to actively adapt to the intelligent communication landscape, make good use of intelligent platforms to build a full-chain mechanism of public opinion perception, analysis and early warning, and rapid response, and promote deep integration of online public opinion clues with offline risk investigation. Closely monitor key areas and critical periods, accurately capture emerging and trending issues, and build a public opinion work system of full coverage, dynamic analysis, and closed-loop handling. Through regular case reviews and exercise training, comprehensively enhance the comprehensive ability to issue authoritative information, guide negative topics, and channel social emotions, firmly grasping the initiative in ideological work.
Enhance digital履职 capability
Currently, digital technology has been deeply embedded in the fabric of economic and social operations, driving the systematic reshaping of governance models, the fundamental transformation of working methods, and the multi-dimensional expansion of channels for expressing public demands. Digitalization has become a distinctive marker of Chinese-style modernization. Whether one can establish digital thinking, master digital methods, and skillfully use digital empowerment has become an important criterion for measuring cadres'履职 capability.
Reshaping digital thinking concepts is the inherent foundation for enhancing digital capability. The essence of digital thinking is a leap from fuzzy judgment dominated by experience to precise governance driven by data, from lagging response of passive reaction to forward-looking governance of proactive prediction, ultimately achieving a deep transformation of thinking modes from linear causality to systemic correlation, and from static closure to dynamic openness. It is necessary to tailor capability cultivation content by category based on the actual履职 situations of cadres at different levels and positions: highlight the digital strategic planning and governance pattern construction capability of leading cadres, and strengthen the thinking cultivation of grassroots cadres in using digital methods to solve practical problems. Step out of the traditional classroom teaching mode, enter the practical scenarios of smart governance, and guide cadres to internalize digital thinking in the entire process of decision-making, implementation, and risk prevention through immersive methods such as case reviews, sand table exercises, and role-playing.
Improving the digital capability cultivation system focuses on consolidating the practical cognition of履职. The depth of cognition determines the effectiveness of action. The degree to which leading cadres grasp the inherent laws of digital governance directly affects the quality and effectiveness of digital practice. It is necessary to systematically sort out the practical achievements of digital governance, condense them into a textbook system and practical case library suitable for cadre learning needs, and clarify the operational logic and application scenarios of various digital governance carriers through process decomposition and scenario analysis. Regularly hold thematic forums and case review exchange meetings, build experience-sharing platforms for the deep integration of digital technology and business work, and transform abstract data concepts into perceivable, referential, and replicable履职 methodologies. Strengthen cross-departmental exchange and discussion, break down industry barriers and cognitive biases, accurately grasp the alignment point between the overall layout of digital construction and job responsibilities, and avoid "digital silos" and redundant construction.
Highlight the integration of training and combat to forge practical digital skills. The key to capability formation lies in actual combat, and the tempering of digital skills especially requires repeated refining in real situations. Innovate the integrated training model of "theoretical lectures — case decomposition — on-site practice," closely follow the overall deployment of Digital China (数字中国) construction to set up specialized courses, and implement tiered and classified precision teaching. Relying on specialized training platforms, focus on high-frequency application scenarios such as public services, grassroots governance, risk monitoring, and government affairs processing, present the full chain process of data collection, analysis and judgment, and落地 application in a panoramic manner, and enhance cadres' digital application ability, intelligent analysis and judgment ability, and collaborative governance ability through practical training.
[The author is the Executive Vice President (Vice Dean) of the Party School of the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the CPC (Chongqing Administration Institute).]
Return to TopOn-site teaching is an important form of interactive teaching methods and a vivid classroom for driving the Party's innovative theories into minds and hearts and guiding cadres to learn, contemplate, and practice. In recent years, the Qingdao Municipal Party School (School of Administration) has continuously improved the quality of on-site teaching, deeply tapping local resources, optimizing the teaching layout, and innovating teaching models, pushing the city's on-site teaching work to new heights.
Precisely focus on the main theme. Clarifying training content and strengthening ideological guidance is the primary task of implementing on-site teaching. It is necessary to closely follow the main line of the Party's innovative theories, eliminating problems such as scattered themes and generalized content. The Qingdao Municipal Party School, in conjunction with the Municipal Organization Department, implements three development plans: a cadre education quality teaching line plan, a good curriculum plan, and a "Qingdao Practice" case plan. Centering on the requirements of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions and directives regarding Shandong and Qingdao, it focuses on building the "Keep in Mind the Instructions" (牢记嘱托) teaching line; centering on the central tasks of the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government during the "Fifteenth Five-Year Plan" (十五五) period, it deeply builds the "Qingdao Practice" teaching line, complementing it with high-quality courses, and transforming representative reform and development sites into typical cases and training content. Currently, it has built 10 teaching lines, 76 on-site teaching sites, and 51 on-site teaching courses covering fields such as Party building guidance, economic development, technological innovation, social governance, and ecological civilization.
Systematically integrate region-wide resources. Adhere to municipal-level overall planning, county-city linkage, and departmental coordination, opening up channels for resource sharing. Strengthen top-level design; the Municipal Organization Department prepares the overall plan for on-site teaching in the city's cadre training; the Academic Affairs Office and the Business Guidance Office of the Municipal Party School coordinate site construction, curriculum design, route planning, material compilation, and resource integration. Clarify division of responsibilities; each county (city, district) builds its own dedicated teaching positions based on local characteristics; functional departments such as development and reform, science and technology, and culture and tourism coordinate frontline practice scenario resources like industrial development and grassroots governance, promoting the precise transformation of "sleeping resources" into "fresh teaching materials." Strengthen resource sharing; build an on-site teaching resource sharing database; 27 recommended on-site teaching sites have been included in the provincial teaching resource catalog. In 2025, the Qingdao Municipal Party School upgraded 28 county-level Party School specialty courses; this year it plans to upgrade another 28, strengthening the supply of high-quality on-site teaching courses.
Continuously promote standardized construction. Standardization and normalization are inherent requirements for enhancing the quality and effectiveness of on-site teaching. The Qingdao Municipal Party School formulates on-site teaching regulations, cultivates the on-site teaching layout according to the "line—point—hall" (线—点—馆) approach, insists that each line has only one theme, connecting points into lines, achieving clear main lines and prominent priorities. Optimize teaching processes; establish a full-process closed-loop mechanism of "pre-class preparation—course guidance—on-site observation—interactive exchange—summary and enhancement."
Innovate practice teaching carriers. Optimizing teaching organizational forms, comprehensively utilizing modern technology, and enriching teaching scenarios and content supply are important means to enhance the appeal of on-site teaching. The Qingdao Municipal Party School integrates teaching resources, systematically creating 13 categories and 66 interactive specialty courses, effectively stimulating teaching vitality. Deepen digital empowerment; jointly build a municipal-level AI comprehensive training room, creating the "AI Empowerment · Smart Gathering Qingdao" (AI赋能·智汇青岛) characteristic training platform, establishing new teaching scenarios. Implement a "dual-teacher dual-lecture" (双师双讲) teaching model, constructing a blended teaching mechanism of "Party school full-time teachers teach theory, frontline backbone experts teach practice," achieving precise alignment between theoretical explanation and practical scenarios.
Forge a high-quality teaching faculty team. Good faculty is an important guarantee for the quality of on-site teaching. The Qingdao Municipal Party School implements a strategy of strengthening the school through talent, building a faculty construction system of precise introduction and cultivation, tiered training, and dynamic quality improvement. Implement a step-by-step ("strengthen foundation, cultivate excellence, empower") (强基、培优、赋能) cultivation plan for young cadres, regularly conducting initiatives such as youth theoretical learning, thematic training, curriculum diagnosis and discussion, collective lesson preparation and polishing, and field research at teaching sites, honing young teachers' abilities in theoretical explanation, curriculum development, and on-site teaching. Conduct two sessions of city-wide Party school faculty training each year, build a database of Party school master teachers, select frontline cadres, industrial leading talents, grassroots advanced models, and industry hero figures to form a part-time faculty team, constructing a diverse and complementary faculty structure.
Return to TopBy: 熊凤平
At present, problems of imbalance and insufficiency in county-level party schools remain prominent in areas such as resource distribution, course supply, teaching staff strength, and school-running conditions, constraining the full release of the overall effectiveness of the main channel and main battlefield for education and training of Party members and cadres. The Party School of the Xining Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China in Qinghai Province adheres to systematic thinking as its fundamental guide, constructs a development pattern of "five coordinations" (五个统筹) for integrated development, and promotes a systemic transformation of county-level party schools within the city area from "dispersed school-running, individual-soldier advance" to "integrated layout, holistic empowerment."
Coordinate organizational leadership. Break through with institutional design to consolidate the organizational foundation for the integrated development of party schools. First, issue the Work Plan for Promoting the Integrated Development of the City-wide Party School System, add a branch school nameplate to urban district party schools with weak foundations, and implement cross-regional bottom-line training and standardized school-running. At the same time, construct a "1+7+N" school-running system, i.e., "Municipal Party School + 7 county-level party schools + distinctive practical teaching bases," achieving full-coverage of teaching resources across the entire area. Second, establish a "2+1" pairing and liaison mechanism between the school's committee leadership and internal departments and offices, and implement precise assistance measures known as the "five ones" (五个一), i.e., "conduct one special research, develop one high-quality course for teaching delivery, jointly study one combined research topic, jointly build one advantageous discipline, cultivate one backbone team," precisely matching the needs of grassroots party schools and making up for development shortcomings. Third, improve the county-level party school principal joint meeting and business consultation mechanism within the city area, strengthen normalized communication and coordination between the municipal and county levels, focus on breakthroughs in key areas such as courses, teaching staff, and scientific research in a linked manner, and effectively raise the level of city-wide integrated school-running.
Coordinate resource allocation. Adhere to joint construction and sharing, mutual complementarity of strengths, and continuously narrow the school-running gap between municipal and county party schools. First, integrate the city's teaching resources, build four types of resource databases—the city-wide teacher database, the basic training course database, the on-site teaching database, and the case teaching database—promote the full opening and sharing of high-quality municipal teaching facilities to county (district) party schools, incorporate county and district distinctive teaching bases into the city-wide unified teaching routes, and achieve "joint construction of positions, sharing of resources." Second, increase guidance and assistance to weak county-level party schools, strengthen factor guarantees through measures such as optimizing staffing allocation, increasing leadership posts, increasing funding input, and coordinating high-quality resources, with priority support for the development of basic training courses and teacher training, firmly securing the bottom line of grassroots school-running, and promoting continuous improvement in school-running conditions of grassroots party schools. Third, leverage the role of the "branch classroom" (分课堂) video training platform, promote high-quality courses and high-quality resources to achieve homogeneous and equivalent full-coverage across the entire area, realize online co-construction and co-use of resources, and empower and enhance efficiency for integrated development.
Coordinate teaching and scientific research. Take teaching integration, scientific research collaboration, and advisory coordination as the core path, make up for the shortcomings in course supply, and enhance core school-running effectiveness. First, led by the municipal party school, strengthen the development of basic training courses, implement municipal-level centralized bottom-line class-running for county-level party schools that lack the conditions for independent, closed school-running, and ensure standardized and normalized training quality. Second, strengthen scientific research coordination, form cross-county teaching and research teams, carry out joint research and centralized breakthroughs around key areas, and promote deep integration of scientific research results with teaching practice. Third, construct a work pattern of "municipal party school leading, city-county linkage, think tank synergy," improve the full closed-loop work mechanism of "research topic selection—results submission—transformation and implementation—tracking and feedback," and continuously increase the contribution rate of decision-making consultation to serving the overall situation.
Coordinate teacher joint cultivation. Adhere to "unified training, dynamic management," and fundamentally solve the problems of insufficient high-quality teachers, inverted levels, and a broken team structure. First, form three high-standard teacher databases for the city-wide party school system, implement a normalized mechanism of "teacher sharing + cross-regional mutual dispatch," prioritize guaranteeing teacher supply for weak counties and districts, and achieve full-area flow and on-demand allocation of high-quality teachers. Second, implement the "Qinglan Plan" (青蓝计划) project, promote mentoring pairings between municipal backbone teachers and county-level young teachers, and normalize teaching and research activities such as collective lesson preparation, trial teaching of new courses, biweekly "lesson polishing", and course evaluation, to promote the growth and development of young teachers. Third, improve the teacher introduction and training mechanism, regularly hold city-wide party school teacher training classes, establish a circular mechanism for dynamic adjustment, unified recruitment and hiring, and selective reserve of the city's party school teachers, and form an excellent teacher echelon with famous teachers leading, backbone teachers supporting, and young teachers striving.
Coordinate assessment and evaluation. Strengthen guidance through orientation, and promote the transformation of integrated development requirements from external constraints to internal consciousness. First, strengthen assessment and empower through planning; the municipal party committee incorporates the work of county-level party schools into the annual target assessment of Party building work, clearly stipulates that the municipal party school participates in the year-end assessment and evaluation work, and forces county-level party committees to comprehensively compact their main responsibilities for running, managing, and building party schools. Second, issue the Guidelines for Promoting the Standardized Construction of Township (Street) Party Schools (Trial), construct a three-level responsibility system of "municipal standard-setting, county-level guarantee, township-level quality improvement," promote the extension of the party school school-running system to the grassroots level and coverage to the front line, and open up the "last kilometer" of Party member education and training. Third, establish a cross-assessment mechanism between municipal and county districts with hierarchical and categorized evaluation, focus on precise evaluation of hard indicators such as county (district) party school leadership team configuration, basic training quality and effectiveness, township party school construction, distinctive brand cultivation, and joint teacher cultivation and sharing, ensuring that the assessment orientation resonates and is highly aligned with the integrated development goals.
(The author is a vice principal of the Party School of the Xining Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, Qinghai Province.)
Return to TopBy: 王柳
The newly revised Work Regulations of Party Schools (Administrative Colleges) of the Communist Party of China (中国共产党党校（行政学院）工作条例) (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations") clearly state that "according to the requirements of the situation and tasks, continuously enrich and innovate teaching content, optimize the teaching layout of Party schools (administrative colleges), and local Party schools (administrative colleges) may offer teaching courses that reflect local characteristics." In recent years, the Hangzhou Municipal Party School has strictly implemented the basic training requirements, adhered to giving prominence to the main course and primary responsibility of Party theoretical education and Party spirit education, developed local characteristic courses based on the vivid practice of Hangzhou's reform and development, and by taking the in-depth development of local cases and the strengthening of on-site teaching point construction as its starting points, created a batch of local characteristic courses with distinct themes and prominent highlights, promoting the in-depth and practical education and training of the Party's innovative theories.
Systematically plan teaching content. The themes of local characteristic courses are planned from three dimensions: strengthening the tracing of origins and following the trail, serving the central work, and enhancing cadre capabilities. First, strengthen the tracing of origins and following the trail. Zhejiang is an important birthplace of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. The Hangzhou Municipal Party School fully leverages this advantage, deepens the research on the origins of the great thought in Zhejiang, and has developed 12 case teaching courses such as "Safeguarding the Cultural Treasures of the Chinese Nation"; it has created 23 "tracing origins and following the trail" on-site teaching demonstration points, including Xiashe Village, Chun'an, Hangzhou (杭州淳安下姜村), and supporting courses. Second, serve the central work. Thoroughly study and implement the important speech spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping during his inspection of Zhejiang, as well as the decisions and deployments of the provincial party committee and the municipal party committee. Focus on areas such as the integrated reform of education, science and technology, and talent, and the construction of a demonstration zone for common prosperity. Key development has been given to 43 case teaching courses including "The Integrated Reform of Education, Science and Technology, and Talent Driven by Science and Technology Innovation Platforms," and 29 on-site teaching points such as Hangzhou Future Sci-Tech City (杭州未来科技城) have been established with related courses developed. Third, enhance cadres' ability to perform their duties. The Hangzhou Municipal Party School adheres to a problem-oriented approach, focusing on creating 28 case teaching courses such as "'Both Management and Service' — Taking the Construction Practice of Hangzhou's 'Courier-Friendly City' (小哥友好城市) as an Example," and 23 on-site teaching courses such as "The Vivid Practice of Intelligent Manufacturing Promoting High-Quality Development," improving cadres' ability to promote high-quality development, serve the masses, and prevent and resolve risks.
Continuously innovate teaching methods. Adhere to "discussing the Dao based on practice," "let those who understand the policy explain the policy, those with experience talk about experience, those who know the methods teach methods," and explore the "double-instructor, double-course (双师双课)" teaching model. Case teaching promotes the "double-instructor" model. "Double-instructor" refers to two types of instructors: one type is Party school teachers, responsible for theoretical analysis, thoroughly and penetratingly explaining the laws behind the cases; the other type is Party and government cadres and trainees, who, combining their own work experience and post practice, truthfully and completely explain the decision-making process, the difficulties in advancement, and the breakthrough paths. Party school teachers and Party-government cadres and trainees teach on the same stage, theoretical interpretation and practical review mutually corroborate each other, achieving mutual growth between teaching and learning, and among learners. On-site teaching promotes the "double-course" model, with each on-site teaching point setting up an on-site explanation course and a theoretical interpretation course. The on-site explanation course focuses on the vivid restoration of historical scenes, telling the practical story of the Party's innovative theories in Hangzhou; the theoretical interpretation course aims to excavate the ideological power behind the scene, find the connection points between history and reality, theory and practice, and thoroughly explain the essence of the theory, the effectiveness of practice, and the demonstration value.
Coordinate and gather teaching synergy. The Hangzhou Municipal Party School adheres to internal and external dual-direction coordination and exerts full-course effort to comprehensively improve course quality. First, internally gather the strength of integrated teaching, research, and consultation. Relying on the school's internal research centers, "consultation resource stations (咨源小站)" and other platforms, and using the integrated teaching-research-consultation project as a carrier, promote scientific research results into classrooms and cases, achieving a virtuous cycle of "teaching produces topics, research produces articles, consultation enters the classroom," providing theoretical support for high-quality courses. In recent years, it has successfully created case teaching courses such as "Regional Coordinated Development Towards Common Prosperity — Experience and Insights from Hangzhou's Establishment of a Benefit-Sharing Mechanism between 'Building Towers and Farming Fields (种楼与种田)'" and on-site teaching courses such as "Hangzhou Practice of Party Building Leading the Construction of Harmonious Labor Relations." Second, externally gather the empowering force of departmental coordination. Improve the joint construction mechanism linking the school with local departments, promoting the organizational department's full-course, in-depth participation in course construction work. The Municipal Party Committee Organization Department takes the lead in overall coordination, jointly issues documents for deployment, effectively unblocking work channels for case research, data acquisition, instructor invitation, course acceptance and evaluation, breaking down work barriers and smoothing resource links. Through the organizational department's forward guidance and full-course participation, it not only firmly adheres to the political direction and political standards of course construction, but also effectively solves the problem of disconnection between learning and application, achieving the organic integration of course education and cadre training. Third, integrate the force of full-course teaching quality control. Establish a full-process quality control system of "collection and selection of points — blind review of teaching plans — trial lecture and commentary — joint lesson preparation — dynamic update," adhere to classified implementation, and meticulously polish courses. For case teaching courses, strictly follow the development path of in-depth research, teaching plan polishing, classroom trial lecture, access acceptance, and tracking improvement; regularly hold symposiums and exchange meetings, work promotion meetings, and experience sharing meetings to continuously iterate course content. For on-site teaching courses, strictly control the various checkpoints of point selection, teaching plan review, and trial lecture evaluation; promote the model of joint lesson preparation between on-site explainers and theoretical teaching teachers, and expert one-on-one coaching; and regularly conduct professional training for staff of on-site teaching points across the city to consolidate the foundation for standardized teaching. Simultaneously establish a two-way mechanism of annual course incubation and cultivation and withdrawal and elimination, ensuring the steady improvement of teaching quality with institutional rigidity.
Jointly develop teaching courses. The Regulations take "adhering to the principle of systematic thinking, focusing on overall planning and resource integration, and constantly enhancing the wholeness and synergy of work" as an important principle of Party school work. The Hangzhou Municipal Party School adheres to the "one chessboard" of the city's Party schools, striving to build a city-county integrated course construction pattern that connects the upper and lower levels and coordinates internal and external forces. First, integrated planning at the top level. The Municipal Party Committee Organization Department and the Municipal Party School jointly issue documents for deployment. The Municipal Party Committee Organization Department is responsible for overall coordination, linking with the organization departments of districts, counties (cities) and municipal departments to promote synergy, effectively breaking down vertical and horizontal divisions and departmental barriers, forming a joint force of coordinated management. Second, integrated promotion of resource development. The Municipal Party School is responsible for overall planning, standard setting, and professional guidance. Party schools of each district, county (city) base themselves on their territorial advantages and are responsible for case development and the construction and maintenance of on-site teaching points within their jurisdiction. Regularly organize city and county Party school teachers to jointly research courses and cooperate on tackling key problems, constructing a resource mining and development mechanism that connects city and county Party schools. Third, integrated sharing of platform construction. Uniformly formulate guidelines for the development of local characteristic courses, establish a sharing platform for high-quality course resources, and promote the mutual dispatch of teachers, joint research of topics, co-construction of bases, and shared use of results between city and county Party school levels. Adhere to open-door school running, invite experts and scholars from provincial and national universities and higher-level Party schools to participate in course development, polishing, and teacher coaching. Rely on the resource advantages of trainees and municipal departments to promote the "one database, one collection, one course (一库一集一课)" project for case teaching, forming a sound development trend of overall leadership and coordination by the municipal Party school, joint construction and linkage between city and county Party schools, complementary advantages, and overall improvement.
[The author is the Vice President (Vice Dean) of the Hangzhou Municipal Party School (Administrative College).]
Return to TopThe "Regulations on the Work of Party Schools (Academies of Governance) of the Communist Party of China" (中国共产党党校（行政学院）工作条例) clearly stipulate that Party schools (academies of governance) are the main channel for educating and training cadres and Party members. In recent years, Nantong City, Jiangsu Province, has adhered to the working mechanism of "Party committee main responsibility, Party branch main grasp, Party member main body," fully leveraged the main channel and main position role of Party schools in educating and training cadres and Party members, and innovatively implemented the "Ten Thousand Party Members Enter Party School" (万名党员进党校) activity. Through large-scale, systematic, and full-coverage education and training, it has pushed Party school education to extend to the grassroots and cover the front line, using theoretical armament to unite minds and forge souls (凝心铸魂), using practical empowerment to improve quality and increase efficiency (提质增效), striving to forge a strong contingent of Party members, and achieving notable results.
Implementing full-region linked training. Build a teaching matrix that is connected from top to bottom and has strong execution, so that the Party's innovative theories and practical requirements reach the grassroots directly. First, integrate training positions. Led by the Municipal Party School, integrate resources from three municipal-level branch schools and seven county-level Party schools to establish a three-dimensional training matrix of "municipal-level overall planning + district-county linkage." Second, extend teaching classrooms. Use township Party schools, teaching points, and other resources as the "front-line classrooms" for Party member education, incorporate the Memorial Hall of the Seven Victories in Seven Battles in Central Jiangsu (苏中七战七捷纪念馆) and others into "walking classrooms," and concentrate on building nine major categories of high-quality teaching routes, including revolutionary历程, patriotic dedication, and development practice, achieving overall coordination of education and training positions and resource sharing across the region. Third, clarify training levels. Clearly define the division of responsibilities of "municipal-level demonstration training, county-level general training, town-street bottom-line training." The Municipal Party School handles the overall plan, the training scheduling plan, and trainer training, organizing training for Party members in urban districts; county-level Party schools promote the implementation of regional Party member training and course delivery; town-street Party schools are responsible for bottom-line coverage. Adopt a high-frequency, broad-coverage model of "one session per week, one day per session" to promote full rotation training for all personnel.
Precisely build the teaching system. Take arming the entire Party with the Party's innovative theories as the primary political task, adhere to precise teaching, and build a curriculum system. First, design systematic courses. Adhere to taking the study of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as the central content and primary task, and set up five categories of high-quality courses: Party innovative theory courses, advanced typical model courses, local conditions courses on city and county conditions, and industry and business professional courses. Second, implement differentiated teaching. Establish personalized course libraries according to five major fields such as rural areas, communities, and state-owned enterprises, providing differentiated "menus" for different groups. For example, for rural Party members, open local practice courses; for Party members in "two types of enterprises and three new types of entities" (两企三新), provide professionally applicable training. Third, reserve diversified trainers. Assemble five categories of trainer teams, including experts and scholars, industry leaders, and "folk eloquent speakers" (百姓名嘴), so that outstanding Party members from different fields can take the podium, transmit professional knowledge, share Party spirit insights, and make Party member education more infectious and persuasive.
Explore and innovate school-running models. Adhere to the education and training concept of "Party member-centered," innovatively adopt the model of "rolling class openings, flexible training," scientifically set time periods, and create a "classroom that never closes." First, promote the "staggered peak + teaching delivery" model. Set up multi-time-slot courses of "workdays + weekends + evening schools" for Party members to choose flexibly. Some county-level cities and districts have established "Thursday Party School Study Day" (周四党校学习日); for Party members in remote areas or specific enterprises, arrange dedicated vehicles to ensure commuting, truly creating a "Party school at the doorstep." Second, implement the "order + course selection" mechanism. At the municipal level, relying on the "Jianghai Pioneer" (江海先锋) integrated media platform, monthly "training lists" of municipal and county-level Party schools are launched for Party members to "select courses online." Third, use "information + smart" methods. Fully utilize video teaching, remote centralized training, and other methods to let high-quality courseware reach the front line, effectively solving problems of insufficient trainers and spatial limitations.
Focus on transforming training effectiveness. Establish a full-chain quality and efficiency control mechanism to push training results from the classroom to the field, from theory to practice. First, continuously improve course quality. Introduce satisfaction evaluations; courses that receive scores below 85 points for three consecutive evaluations are included in the key tutoring directory library, polished and improved by the collective lesson preparation group, and can resume only after passing a new trial lecture. Second, continuously promote the transformation of learning into application. Always emphasize that when Party members enter the Party school, the key point is learning, and the landing point is application. Actively guide Party members to closely combine what they learn at the Party school with their on-duty performance, strive to provide "golden ideas" and good strategies for economic and social development and enterprise production and operation, promptly transform what they have learned and pondered into genuine insights, provide useful references for the scientific decision-making of the Party committee and government, and effectively enhance the quality and efficiency of Party school training. Third, continuously expand training effectiveness. Vivid cases of Party members driving enterprises to use the Party's innovative theories to guide scientific development, compliant operations, and optimized services are constantly emerging. After training, some enterprise Party branch secretaries actively plan Party lessons entering enterprises, promoting employees' learning of political theory and boosting development confidence; establish "anchor growth salons" to regulate business activities; integrate the fulfillment of social responsibilities into work procedures, etc., achieving resonance and mutual promotion between Party member education and central work.
Return to TopBy: 张志明
General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: “It is necessary to promote the precise matching of the supply and demand of cadre education and training, to better meet organizational needs, post needs, and cadre needs, to continuously optimize the methods and approaches of education and training, and to further enhance the systematization, targeting, and effectiveness of education and training.” Accurately grasping the three types of needs is key to improving training quality and effectiveness and forging a high-quality professional cadre team. The Party School of the Feicheng Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (中共肥城市委党校) in Shandong Province, based on its functional positioning as a county-level party school, closely follows the three types of needs to optimize courses, innovate forms, and standardize management, continuously improving the actual effectiveness of cadre education and training.
Anchor organizational needs, build firm political loyalty. Highlight the principal and main course status of Party theoretical education and Party spirit education, and construct an integrated teaching system of theoretical soul-forging and Party spirit tempering. First, theoretical education focuses on system optimization and effectiveness improvement. In accordance with the basic training curriculum requirements of the Central Party School (National Academy of Governance), with Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as the core content, systematically set up core courses such as the Party’s innovative theories. Innovate the model of “classroom theory interpretation + on-site field study”, systematically expound the Party’s innovative theories, organize students to enter benchmark enterprises and demonstration zones such as Feicheng’s new industrialization and rural revitalization, and deepen theoretical understanding through vivid practice. Implement the high-quality course improvement project, through the high-quality course grinding mechanism of “topic selection, lesson polishing, competition evaluation, and improvement”, more than 20 courses have been rated as high-quality courses by the provincial and municipal party school systems. Second, Party spirit education focuses on political tempering and disciplinary warning. Carry out the activity of “raising the national flag and singing the national anthem, reaffirming the oath of joining the Party” as the first lesson before the start of each class for students. Organize students to go to the Digital Integrity Education Center for immersive teaching, guide students to know reverence, maintain caution, and observe bottom lines. Standardize the mechanism of Party spirit analysis, through individual self-examination, group mutual evaluation, and branch comments, promote students to hone their political character in organizational life.
Focus on post needs, enhance the ability to perform duties. Adhere to a combat-oriented approach, precisely connect with post needs, and break the “one-size-fits-all” training model. Normalize needs diagnosis, conduct two rounds of comprehensive surveys each year, through departmental consultations, symposiums and interviews, and questionnaire surveys, form three lists: post capability, training needs, and course supply, set courses according to needs, and achieve hierarchical classification and precise teaching. Based on Feicheng’s development reality, develop a series of characteristic courses, explore and research paths for high-quality development of county economies. Deepen the “Party school + base” on-site teaching model, create by category 5 types and 26 characteristic teaching bases on themes such as Party spirit education, new industrialization, and rural revitalization, optimize high-quality on-site teaching routes on themes such as red inheritance and grassroots governance, move the classroom to the front line of projects and the scene of governance. Deeply excavate local resources to strengthen the case library, teacher library, and training library, implement the four-in-one teaching model of “classroom – on-site – drill – review”, invite front-line cadres to teach on stage, normalize scenario training such as emergency drills, turning 纸上谈兵 (zhǐ shàng tán bīng – “discuss military tactics on paper,” to engage in armchair theorizing) into actual field training.
Meet cadre needs, stimulate learning motivation. Closely follow personalized needs such as cadre growth and success, ability improvement, and vision expansion, optimize training supply, and activate the endogenous motivation for learning. Launch a “course selection menu”, on the basis of firmly grasping the principal and main courses of Party theoretical education and Party spirit education, offer courses on digital empowerment, mental health, family tradition building, etc., to precisely fill ability gaps. Build platforms such as student lectures, interactive forums, and experience exchanges, let participating students go to the podium, talk about practical work, and transmit experience, enhance comprehensive literacy through mutual learning and reference. Fully leverage the resource advantages of students coming from different fields and departments and being familiar with grassroots practice, adopt a combination of “Party school proposes topics, students select topics”, normalize the pairing of Party school teachers with participating students to carry out joint research and collaborative problem-solving, organically integrate theoretical advantages and practical advantages, and form a batch of research results that are down-to-earth, feasible, and transformable. Utilize online resources such as the “Zhongjinding Cloud Lecture Hall” (种金顶云讲堂) of the Shandong Provincial Party School, and the Tsinghua University Feicheng Distance Teaching Station for Rural Revitalization, to fully meet students’ learning needs, enabling students to flexibly learn, learn anytime, and learn autonomously during self-study time, use precise training to stimulate students’ learning potential, and help comprehensively improve cadres’ comprehensive quality.
(Authors’ affiliation: Party School of the Feicheng Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, Shandong Province)
Return to TopBy: 仝嫦哲
At present, a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is accelerating, and technological innovation has become the core element in developing new quality productive forces. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized during the 24th group study session of the 20th Politburo of the CPC Central Committee: "Leading cadres at all levels must strengthen their study of knowledge at the forefront of science and technology, and strive to understand technology, grasp industries, and make good decisions." Cadre education and training is a pioneering, foundational, and strategic project for building a high-quality cadre contingent, and it must actively adapt to the needs of the times, placing the cultivation of leading cadres' scientific and technological literacy in a prominent position.
Adhere to targeted efforts and precise implementation, and optimize the training content system. To enhance the scientific and technological literacy of leading cadres, it is necessary to base efforts on the job characteristics, performance needs, and knowledge structures of leading cadres, constructing a training content system that is highly targeted, highly systematic, and highly practical. First, strengthen theoretical armament and consolidate the foundation of ideological understanding. Deeply interpret the Party Central Committee's major strategic deployments concerning technological innovation, guide leading cadres to deeply recognize the core position of technological innovation in the overall national development landscape, and consciously integrate the awareness of technological innovation into the entire process of all work. Second, focus on frontier science and technology, and fill knowledge gaps. Systematically set up special courses on technology frontiers such as artificial intelligence, invite experts and scholars in the field of science and technology to teach, explain the current state of technological development, frontier trends, and application scenarios, help leading cadres understand the general trend of technological development, master essential scientific and technological knowledge, and eliminate blind spots in scientific and technological cognition. Third, highlight a practice-oriented approach and enhance application capabilities. Focus on key tasks such as industrial transformation and upgrading, grassroots governance, risk prevention, and digital government construction, set up special courses on science and technology application, promote leading cadres' mastery of thinking methods for empowering work through science and technology, use new technological means to solve various work difficulties, and improve work performance. Fourth, base on job needs and strengthen differentiated training. The knowledge and skills in the field of science and technology are highly specialized and span a wide range of content. For leading cadres at different levels, in different fields, and in different positions, differentiated training content should be designed to effectively improve training precision, meet the work needs of different groups, and promote learning gains and application.
Innovate training methods and approaches to enhance training attractiveness and effectiveness. Traditional training models are difficult to adapt to the needs of cultivating the scientific and technological literacy of leading cadres in the new era. It is necessary to adhere to upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground, combine the characteristics of technological development with the learning patterns of leading cadres, and innovate training methods and approaches. First, enrich interactive teaching forms. Select typical cases from domestic and international technological innovation for teaching, help leading cadres deepen their understanding of scientific and technological knowledge in case analysis. Focus on hot and difficult issues in technological innovation, through thematic seminars, sand table simulations, roundtable salons, open-window dialogues and other forms, organize leading cadres to exchange learning experiences and share work experiences. For key frontline work tasks, create scenario simulation environments, set up practical training classrooms, promote teaching interaction, provide leading cadres with practical exercise opportunities, and enhance practical operation capabilities. Second, strengthen on-site teaching and practical experience. Organize leading cadres to visit scientific research institutes, science and technology enterprises, and high-tech industrial parks, conduct on-site inspections of technological innovation achievements, engage in face-to-face exchanges with researchers and enterprise personnel, understand the entire process of technology research and development and achievement transformation, and deepen their understanding of technological innovation practice. Build science and technology practice platforms, organize leading cadres to participate in research and project promotion related to technological innovation, and enhance their technological innovation capabilities in practice. Third, use digital means to optimize the training experience. Rely on relevant online training platforms, set up special technology training zones, and gather high-quality courses. Develop lightweight learning resources such as micro-lectures and short videos on science and technology, facilitating leading cadres to study using fragmented time. Flexibly use technological means, leverage teaching models such as virtual simulation work scenarios and cloud-based visits to break through time and space constraints, promote leading cadres to immersively experience the effects of frontier technology, and enhance their technology application capabilities. Fourth, make good use of external resources and strengthen exchanges and cooperation. Invite experts, scholars, or science and technology workers in the field of science and technology to serve as mentors, provide professional guidance to leading cadres, and help them fill gaps in scientific and technological knowledge. Learn from the experience and practices of advanced regions or units in improving the scientific and technological literacy of leading cadres, and organize leading cadres to conduct cross-regional and cross-department exchanges and interactions.
Improve training mechanisms to ensure the normalization and long-term effectiveness of scientific and technological literacy cultivation. Continuously improve training mechanisms, promote the integration of scientific and technological literacy cultivation into the entire process and all aspects of cadre education and training. First, optimize top-level design and establish and improve training mechanisms. Make the cultivation of scientific and technological literacy an important part of cadre education and training, issue relevant documents, clarify training objectives, training content, and training methods, and provide institutional guarantees for the normalized advancement of scientific and technological literacy cultivation. Establish science and technology literacy files, dynamically record the situation of leading cadres participating in various science and technology training and practices, track and evaluate the effectiveness of scientific and technological literacy improvement, provide a basis for subsequent training, and achieve precise matching between training supply and cadre needs. Second, improve the assessment and evaluation mechanism, and strengthen transformation and application. Incorporate scientific and technological literacy into the assessment and evaluation system for leading cadres, clarify assessment standards, refine assessment indicators, link the improvement of scientific and technological literacy with the selection, appointment, and rank promotion of leading cadres, form a clear orientation, and effectively stimulate the endogenous motivation of leading cadres to enhance their scientific and technological literacy. Third, strengthen the teaching staff and consolidate training quality and effectiveness. Build a composite teaching team that both understands the laws of cadre education and training and possesses solid scientific and technological knowledge. On the one hand, strengthen the scientific and technological knowledge training for teachers in cadre education and training institutions, continuously improve teachers' scientific and technological literacy and teaching capabilities, and promote the effective integration of scientific and technological knowledge into cadre education and training courses; on the other hand, systematically hire diverse teaching forces such as experts, scholars, researchers, entrepreneurs, and frontline science and technology workers in the field of science and technology as part-time teachers, enrich the teaching force, and improve training quality.
Improving the scientific and technological literacy of leading cadres is an important task for the construction of the cadre contingent in the new era, and also an important content of cadre education and training reform and innovation. Facing the new situation and new tasks, cadre education and training institutions at all levels must take the initiative, act actively, and with precise training content, innovative training methods, and long-term training mechanisms, promote leading cadres to deepen their scientific and technological cognition, cultivate scientific spirit, and enhance scientific and technological capabilities. The broad masses of leading cadres should consciously regard the improvement of scientific and technological literacy as a lifelong topic, actively participate in training, diligently study and practice, and effectively integrate scientific and technological literacy into their capacity for modernization, becoming experts who understand technology, use technology, and promote technology, providing a solid guarantee for achieving high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening and promoting high-quality development.
(Author unit: China Executive Leadership Academy, Pudong (中国浦东干部学院))
By: 缪军
In the history of the Chinese nation’s War of Resistance against Japan, one place name shines brightly: the ancient town of Li Zhuang in Sichuan. During the war-torn years, it became a warm haven for preserving the flame of Chinese culture, bearing a magnificent and deeply moving history.
Migration in the Flames of War
Li Zhuang is located on the banks of the Yangtze River in Yibin, Sichuan, and enjoys the reputation of being “the first ancient town on the ten-thousand-li Yangtze River.” Its unique geographical position made it an important node for water transport on the Yangtze, and also provided convenient transportation conditions for receiving a large number of institutions relocated inland during the War of Resistance. In the war-torn years of the Resistance, this ancient town in southern Sichuan became an important haven for the cultural migration of the Resistance period. Li Zhuang has long transcended its geographical meaning; it is a modern epic of “the southward migration of the elite” (衣冠南渡) amid the flames of war, and even more so a symbol of “the unceasing sound of string and song, the eternal continuity of the cultural lineage” (弦歌不辍，文脉永续) when the Chinese nation was in peril.
After the July 7 Incident of 1937, major cities such as Beiping, Shanghai, and Nanjing fell one after another, and the institutions of higher learning and scientific research in North and East China faced catastrophic disaster. After the Battle of Shanghai broke out, the Japanese army deliberately destroyed cultural and educational institutions; the Wusong campus of National Tongji University (hereinafter referred to as Tongji University) and the Commercial Press were reduced to ruins in successive bombings. In 1939, as the Japanese invaders advanced south in force, Tongji University, which had moved from Shanghai to Kunming after many twists and turns, was bombed again. While searching for a new foothold, Tongji University received a warm welcome from Li Zhuang in Yibin.
Li Zhuang, far away in southern Sichuan, became the relocation site chosen by Tongji University. In the autumn of 1940, Li Zhuang welcomed an unprecedented bustle — the faculty and students of Tongji University set out from Kunming, first traveling by land and then by water, and arrived in Li Zhuang. Boat after boat of people, boat after boat of books, boat after boat of instruments and equipment traveled upstream against the river, pouring into Li Zhuang. The Preparatory Office of the National Central Museum (中央博物院筹备处) moved and stationed in Li Zhuang, bringing with it over 3,000 cases of collected cultural relics, all of them treasures from successive dynasties’ imperial courts, especially the original handwritten copy of the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries (四库全书), which was a national treasure.
From 1940 to 1946, the Chinese Society for the Study of Chinese Architecture (中国营造学社), the Institute of History and Philology (hereinafter referred to as the Institute of History and Philology) and the Institute of Physical Anthropology (体质人类学研究所) of Academia Sinica, as well as the Institute of Humanities of Peking University (北京大学文科研究所) and other highly renowned institutions of higher learning and research, along with a large number of experts and scholars, arrived in Li Zhuang one after another. This ancient town, with an area of less than one square kilometer and a population of fewer than 4,000, accommodated more than 12,000 scholars and students, as well as a great number of national treasures, cultural relics, and scientific research equipment. From then on, these intellectuals, who had suffered much from displacement, found a quiet desk in Li Zhuang. They bore the national enmity and family grievances in mind, and devoted themselves wholeheartedly to research and scholarship. Together with the relocated scholars, Li Zhuang fought on a battlefield without gunpowder to preserve the Chinese cultural lineage, forming a unique landscape of “cultural resistance.”
Academic Perseverance and Breakthroughs
During their time in Li Zhuang, the experts and scholars of the Institute of History and Philology, the Chinese Society for the Study of Chinese Architecture, and the Institute of Humanities of Peking University, despite the harsh living conditions, still tempered their efforts in research, carrying out a series of pioneering and foundational investigations and studies, and achieving a multitude of research results. They contributed to preserving the cultural lineage of Chinese culture, forming an important wartime academic stronghold in the Southwest region.
During its six years in Li Zhuang, Tongji University did not decline but rather developed. In addition to its original schools of Medicine, Engineering, and Science, the newly established School of Law also developed rapidly; the School of Engineering added a mechanical engineering special class, the School of Science added a physics department, and the university trained thousands of senior-level scientific, medical, and educational personnel for the country. The School of Medicine, despite its简陋 equipment — with operating rooms set up in the main hall of the Patriarch’s Hall (祖师殿) and dissecting tables temporarily built from wooden planks — faculty and students overcame difficulties, adhered to the integration of teaching and clinical practice, and conquered epidemic diseases such as bi disease (痹病, a type of paralysis). The School of Engineering participated in the construction of some livelihood projects in the Sichuan-Yunnan region. The School of Science utilized the resources of the Yangtze River to conduct hydrological and geological research, providing technical support for the construction of the wartime rear area. Tongji University biology professor Tong Dizhou and his wife Ye Yufen used a microscope they had bought by scrimping and saving, and conducted embryology experiments under a vegetable-oil lamp, achieving world-leading research results.
The Institute of History and Philology, during its several years in Li Zhuang, became the wartime center for Chinese archaeology and history. Dong Zuobin of the archaeology group sorted the oracle bones from the Yin Ruins there, completing the Yin Li Pu (殷历谱, “Chronological Tables of the Yin Dynasty”), which systematically investigated the Shang dynasty calendar. Li Ji continued his research on artifacts unearthed from the Yin Ruins, writing works such as Yinxu Qiwu Jia Bian · Taoqi (殷墟器物甲编·陶器, “First Series of Yin Ruins Artifacts: Pottery”). Liang Siyong completed the drafting and organization of the Report on the Excavations at the Yin Ruins Cemetery at Xibeigang, Houjiazhuang, Anyang, Henan and the Preliminary Draft of the Study of Artifacts from Xibeigang, making outstanding contributions to the archaeological research of the Yin Ruins. Fu Sinian and other scholars conducted research on Ming and Qing history and frontier history, oversaw the collation of the Veritable Records of the Ming Dynasty (明实录), and published historical monographs such as Liutong Bielu (六同别录). Linguists such as Li Fanggui conducted in-depth surveys of dialects in southern Sichuan, accumulating valuable materials for Chinese linguistic research.
Liang Sicheng and Lin Huiyin of the Chinese Society for the Study of Chinese Architecture, in a simple farmhouse, continued their investigation and research on ancient Chinese architecture using an abacus and drawing boards. In 1944, they completed A History of Chinese Architecture, which for the first time systematically outlined the developmental lineage of Chinese architecture. In addition, the Society assisted the Preparatory Office of the National Central Museum in restoring a large number of cultural relics damaged during the war.
During the Li Zhuang period, a lively academic atmosphere formed among the various institutions. Tongji University regularly held “academic lectures”; the Institute of History and Philology and the Chinese Society for the Study of Chinese Architecture frequently held joint seminars; faculty and students from Ginling University and Tongji University collaborated on social surveys of the Yangtze River basin. The Institute of Humanities of Peking University, relying on the Institute of History and Philology, set up a liaison office in Li Zhuang to conduct graduate student training, producing a number of high-level personnel.
Mutual Support in Protecting the Cultural Lineage
The people of Li Zhuang gave their all to the arriving scholars, providing the best conditions they could. To facilitate transportation, the Li Zhuang residents built a stone-paved road from the wharf to Banli’ao, carrying books and instruments on their shoulders and backs. To solve the housing problem, the residents partitioned and rented out their courtyard houses and ancestral halls, and even vacated their main rooms for the scholars to live in.
In Li Zhuang, many stories of mutual support between the cultured people and the villagers are told. Some scholars who came to Li Zhuang fell seriously ill, and the Li Zhuang villagers risked going up the mountains to gather medicinal herbs. Bi disease was prevalent in southern Sichuan; severe cases involved vomiting, diarrhea, and limb paralysis, and when it reached the chest, death followed. The cause was unknown for a long time. Through animal experiments, professors at Tongji University’s School of Medicine identified the cause as barium chloride contained in the salt produced in Wutongqiao, thus conquering bi disease and allowing the local people to be treated. In 1941, when Japanese planes bombed Yibin and Li Zhuang was harassed by artillery fire, the villagers voluntarily moved the scholars and cultural relics into hidden caves and guarded them throughout the night. This emotional bond that transcended geographical boundaries became a microcosm of the cohesion of the Chinese nation during the War of Resistance.
The archaeologists of the Institute of History and Philology, who were in charge of sorting the oracle bones from the Yin Ruins, needed to check rubbings day and night. Seeing this, the villagers each contributed tung oil, lit ever-burning lamps in the ancestral hall, and every night villagers took turns on duty, accompanying the scholars through the cold nights. Hearing that the biologists needed to collect specimens, the villagers always brought an extra cloth bag when going into the mountains, carefully storing rare plants and insects, and even risking climbing steep cliffs just to obtain precious species samples. When the faculty and students of Tongji University lacked food, the villagers preferred to eat sweet potatoes and coarse grains themselves, saving the rice to deliver to the campus. In return, the Tongji University School of Medicine set up a temporary hospital in Li Zhuang to treat villagers’ diseases, and doctors went to the countryside for epidemic prevention, successfully curbing the local cholera outbreak...
The arrival of cultural institutions also brought a new atmosphere to Li Zhuang. The Tongji University School of Medicine actively promoted health and epidemic prevention knowledge; faculty and students also established night schools, teaching farmers to read and write and explaining the principles of the War of Resistance. Scholars from the Institute of History and Philology went deep into the countryside, investigated Li Zhuang folk customs, and integrated academic research with local culture. This two-way interaction formed a unique “Li Zhuang cultural ecology.” The children of Li Zhuang often leaned on the windowsills, watching the scholars write and draw. Those mysterious symbols and books planted seeds of culture in their hearts. The blending of culture and native soil radiated a warm light amid the flames of war.
After the victory of the War of Resistance, the institutions of higher learning and research gradually moved out of Li Zhuang. What they took away was the intact preservation of cultural relics, books, and documents along with hundreds of research results; what they left behind was a deep bond of shared life and death. In 1946, when the Institute of History and Philology moved away, its faculty and students specially erected a stele for the people of Li Zhuang to express their gratitude. The stele inscription, 山高水长 (shān gāo shuǐ cháng - “mountains high, rivers long,” signifying an enduring, never-fading bond), metaphorically declares that this sentiment will last forever. This stone stele still stands at the entrance of the ancient town. Today, strolling through the streets and alleys of Li Zhuang’s ancient town, among the white walls and black tiles, one can still seem to hear the sound of reading and laughter from over 80 years ago, and still see the figures of scholars and villagers joining hands to protect the cultural lineage.
The story of Li Zhuang is a true portrayal and vivid microcosm of the Chinese nation’s mutual help and steadfast preservation of Chinese culture during the War of Resistance. When the flames of war rose, the cultured people and the villagers joined hands, using courage and action to build a safe haven for cultural inheritance. Those cultural relics, books, and documents that condensed the wisdom of the ancestors were preserved; those academic studies that carried on the national spirit were never interrupted. From the perilous migration of cultural relics to the steadfastness of academic research, from the villagers’ selfless dedication to the scholars’ reciprocation, this united, concerted effort of protection made the flame of Chinese culture even more resilient amid the storms, becoming the enduring spiritual strength of the Chinese nation.
Return to TopBy: 邱诗越
The one I long for is on the other side of the water. A sigh from three thousand years ago, its lingering notes still resonate today. If we return to the era of the Book of Songs (诗经), we discover that water has always been the true protagonist. The Book of Songs contains over fifty poems involving water, roughly one-sixth of the entire collection. The mighty sweep of the Yellow River, the vast breadth of the Han River, the spring waves of the Zhen and Wei (溱洧) rivers—these are no longer merely geographic backdrops; they are the repository of emotion, the metaphor of fate, and the vessel of spirit. Looking back along these rivers, we can see: the romance of the Chinese people, from the very beginning, has been connected with water.
With the tenderness of water, it unfolds long-lasting longing. The waterside in the Book of Songs is often where love sprouts. “Guan-guan go the ospreys, on the islet in the river” — at the very opening of Guan Ju (关雎) from the South of Zhou, we are brought to a river islet surrounded by clear waves. The ospreys call in harmony, the duckweed sways unevenly—everything is as it is in nature. Love, like flowing water, is clean, clear, and enduring. This method of beginning with a waterside scene became the classic paradigm for writing about love in Chinese literature.
If Guan Ju writes of the joy of meeting, then Jian Jia (蒹葭) writes of the melancholy of gazing from afar. “The reeds grow lush and green, the white dew turns to frost. The one I long for is on the other side of the water.” The autumn waters stretch endlessly, the one longed for is seen across the water. Seeking upstream, the way is blocked and long; seeking downstream, she seems to be in the midst of the water. Water becomes an unbridgeable distance and regret, visible but unreachable. This wistfulness has since been written into the Chinese aesthetic: love becomes more precious because of separation, longing becomes deeper because of distance. Qin Guan chanted “tender feelings like water”, Li Qingzhao sighed “flowers drift away on their own, water flows by itself”—both, along this river, repeatedly look back at that figure “on the other side of the water.”
But the waterside in the Book of Songs is not only the chill of Jian Jia; there is also the lively Zhen Wei (溱洧) from the Airs of Zheng. “The Zhen and the Wei, they are swelling and flowing” — the early spring river thaws and flows in great waves. Young men and women, holding orchids in hand, meet on the bank. “The girl says, ‘Shall we go watch?’ The boy says, ‘I have already been, but let’s go again!’” The surging spring waters and youthful exuberance meet here. Reserved waiting is love; passionate pursuit is also love. Just like flowing water, it can be still and deep, or it can surge forward. By the waterside of the Book of Songs, all forms of love are thus contained.
With the barrier of water, it condenses into the undercurrent of fate and nostalgia. The waterside is not only love; there is also the unbridgeable distance and melancholy. This barrier becomes a metaphor for fate and nostalgia. In Han Guang (汉广) from the South of Zhou: “The Han is so broad, I cannot swim across it; the River is so long, I cannot reach it by raft.” The barrier of the river makes unattainable desire a fate of life. Knowing full well it is beyond reach, yet still “gathering the tangled firewood, cutting the thorny bushes.” This persistence and steadfastness of doing what one knows is impossible makes looking across the river one of the most moving tragic images in Chinese literature. Beyond love, there is a kind of emotional refuge called homeland. In He Guang (河广) from the Airs of Wei: a person from Song living in Wei gazes toward his native land from afar, his heart full of the melancholy and acute pain of distance that feels both near and far. Hence comes that helpless yet affectionate consolation: “Who says the Yellow River is wide? A single reed can cross it. Who says Song is far? I can see it by standing on tiptoe.” The Yellow River is a natural moat, yet in the eager expectation of the wanderer’s heart yearning to return, it becomes as if a single reed can cross it. The deeper the nostalgia, the narrower the river and the nearer the homeland. Then the next stanza repeats: “Who says Song is far? It is not even a full morning’s journey.” When longing reaches its depth, it seems one can set foot on native soil before a morning is over. It turns out that some rivers are crossed with the heart.
Why does water always make people melancholy? The river flows ceaselessly, just like time slipping away hastily. People standing by the water see not only the flowing water, but also the distant years, missed opportunities, and the homeland that is hard to reach. The people in the Book of Songs, standing by the riverbank, either gaze at the one they long for or think of their native land. In fact, what they gaze at is also the passing of time. Water becomes the image of time.
With the imposing momentum of water, it expands the boundaries of one’s breadth of mind and spirit. The waterside in the Book of Songs is not only lingering love and wandering nostalgia; there are also battlefield ambitions and national sentiments. In Jiang Han (江汉) from the Greater Court Hymns (大雅), the river shows another magnificent scene: “The Jiang and Han surge and roll, the warriors are vigorous and proud.” The river flows mightily, the soldiers’ spirits are high. At this moment, the river no longer separates lovers and homeland; instead, it escorts and cheers the king’s army on its expedition. This river embodies the soldiers’ soaring spirit and unyielding character.
Water also appears in Mian Shui (沔水) with yet another kind of spirit: “Swelling and flowing streams, they all go to the sea.” A hundred streams rush onward, all eventually reaching the sea — this magnificent scene is a vivid metaphor for where people’s hearts turn and the whole world submits. But Mian Shui is not an empty eulogy; it immediately continues: “Alas for my brothers, for my countrymen and friends. None are willing to worry about the turmoil, who does not have parents?” This closely connects the vastness of flowing water with the individual’s concern for the country. The direction of a hundred streams converging on the sea is precisely the original aspiration of the benevolent and righteous who care about the world. Water, by containing myriad streams, becomes as vast as rivers and seas; people, by upholding great righteousness, can long cherish the responsibility of aiding the world.
From the whispers on the river islet in Guan Ju to the myriad miles of river waves in Jiang Han, the stream of water in the Book of Songs overflows with romantic love, crosses wandering nostalgia, passes through battlefield smoke, and moistens the family and the nation. It can be clear, shallow, and gentle, reflecting one person’s inner feelings; it can also be vast and boundless, bearing the ambition of a generation. Later, Su Shi wrote “The great river flows eastward”, and Xin Qiji lamented “The rise and fall of a thousand ages”—those majestic lines have their origins in the rivers of the Book of Songs. Water has long become the meta-language for Chinese people to express emotions. The purity of love, the intensity of nostalgia, the grandeur of aspirations—all can rely on this stream of water to house the spirit and soul of the nation.
When Chinese people express their emotions and thoughts, it often involves a river. That river might be a small stream in front of their hometown, a river they gaze at from across the bank, or even the cultural river that has been flowing in their hearts for three thousand years. “On the other side of the water” is no longer just a graceful figure; hidden within it are countless heartfelt matters: gazing at longing, gazing at homeland, and gazing at the family, the country, and the world.
Today, when we sing again “Green reeds are lush and dense, white mist is vast and boundless”, we can almost still hear the echo of that river from three thousand years ago. The Book of Songs, using water as its brush, drew the contours of emotion and the domain of spirit for Chinese civilization. The rivers in those verses have long been integrated into the bloodline of the nation and have flowed into everyone’s heart. In fact, there is a long river “on the other side of the water” in each of our hearts — it is filled with longing, laden with expectations, stirred with soaring heroic passion, ever-lasting, and ever-flowing.
Return to TopBy: 潘松 彭琼
White walls and black tiles, ancient fragrance dense; flying eaves and upturned corners amidst painted beams. Huizhou (徽州) is mainly located in southern Anhui, anciently called Xin'an and Shezhou. In the third year of Xuanhe of the Northern Song (1121), Shezhou was changed to Huizhou—this is the beginning of the name Huizhou. Huizhou culture is 博大精深 (bó dà jīng shēn - "broad, great, profound, deep") and 源远流长 (yuán yuǎn liú cháng - "source distant, flow long," long-standing), and Huizhou architecture is one of its most dazzling pearls.
Huizhou has about five thousand villages, spread across "one prefecture and six counties" (一府六县). The ancient villages, in their spatial layout, are influenced by clan, culture and other concepts, setting up academies, community schools, free schools, private schools, memorial archways, Wenchang pavilions, etc., perfectly combining Confucian merchant culture with architectural art.
The residences, ancestral halls (祠堂), and memorial archways (牌坊) in the villages are called the "Three Wonders of Huizhou" (徽州三绝). During the Ming and Qing periods, large numbers of Huizhou merchants who had traveled abroad returned home 衣锦还乡 (yī jǐn huán xiāng - "dress in brocade, return to hometown," returning in glory) and built residences, ancestral halls, and memorial archways. Among the "Three Wonders", residences are the most numerous; the appearance of white walls and black tiles, the staggered horse-head walls (马头墙), the imposing and exquisite gatehouses (门楼), the "Four Waters Returning to the Hall" (四水归堂) courtyards, the "Beauty's Rest" (美人靠) by the water, etc., are their distinctive features.
Residences are the most basic architectural cells of the village. Black tiles, white walls, and gray bricks together form their basic color tone. "White walls, black tiles, horse-head walls"—the horse-head wall is one of the iconic elements of ancient Huizhou residences, named for its upturned eaves shaped like a horse's raised head. Why did Huizhou people make firewalls in the shape of horse heads? Perhaps because the horse is a spiritual animal, with imagery of vigor, loftiness, rising, and prosperity. The horse-head wall is commonly called the "fire-sealing wall" (封火墙), originally for fire prevention, a practical need. However, in Huizhou, due to their rich combination of forms, they add beauty to the architecture. A group of buildings or a village forms a continuous, gradual, interlacing, undulating movement of horse-head walls. The layered horse-head walls rise above the roof ridges, against the blue sky, outlining the contour between the residence walls and the sky, increasing the sense of spatial layering, embodying the harmony between heaven and man (天人合一). Looking into the distance, the staggered horse-head walls resemble mountains, making the whole village shine in harmony with the distant peaks, like the masterful strokes of ink-wash painting, outlining scenes of "villages in Chinese paintings."
Gatehouses are the 点睛之笔 (diǎn jīng zhī bǐ - "dot the eye stroke," finishing touch) of Huizhou architecture. The towering gatehouses and blue bricks and stone carvings engrave the family's glory. Gatehouses originated from the "talisman town" (符镇) for warding off evil, later developing into fixed stone and brick carvings. "A thousand taels for the gatehouse, four taels for the house"—under the flying eaves, stone lions stand quietly; on the lintel, purple aura flows. Through the changes of time, they always stand as silent declarations, guarding the dignity of each family.
The courtyard (天井) is the growth point of Huizhou residences, with functions of receiving and draining roof water, lighting, and ventilation. Since the roof eaves all face inward toward the courtyard, when it rains, water flows from all sides into the open pit, locally called "Four Waters Returning to the Hall" (四水归堂), expressing people's good wishes. Huizhou people's wisdom of "unity of heaven and man" (天人合一) is deeply engraved in every brick and tile of the courtyard.
The "Beauty's Rest" (美人靠), built in relatively hidden corners, also called "Wu King's Rest" (吴王靠), formal name "Goose Neck Chair" (鹅颈椅), is a wooden architectural component with a bench below and a railing above, named for its outward-curving backrest like a goose neck, usually built on the waterside of corridors or pavilion railings. Folk legend says that "Beauty's Rest" originated from the special railing that the Wu King made for Xi Shi. Nowadays, this architectural design is very suitable for people to rest.
Ancestral halls (祠堂) are generally separate from residences, becoming the most prominent landmark in the village with their grand scale and towering form. They are places for clan ancestor worship, discussion, and education, mainly including main ancestral halls, branch ancestral halls, and family ancestral halls. One main ancestral hall in Xidi Village (西递村) is quite famous; above the front door of its rear hall of offerings hangs a large plaque with a powerful "filial piety" character, said to be written by Zhu Xi, the Neo-Confucian of the Southern Song.
Memorial archways (牌坊), anciently called "chuoxie" (绰楔) or "shenxie" (绅楔), evolved from the Lingxing Gate (棂星门), are gateway-style commemorative buildings used to promote Confucian ethical values. Huizhou, known as the "Hometown of Memorial Archways", once had thousands of archways, with over a hundred remaining, ninety percent in She County (歙县). They are often built in front of temples or ancestral halls, or at the village entrance water outlet, or straddling the street, riding the road, forming beautiful cultural landscapes together with other buildings and the natural environment. The Tangyue Memorial Archway Group (棠樾牌坊群) in She County is most famous; seven ancient and majestic archways stand at the village entrance, arranged along a winding road in the order of "loyalty, filial piety, chastity, righteousness", reflecting both the differences of Ming and Qing styles and the unity of the overall architecture, truly amazing.
"Without carving, there is no house; with carving, it is precious." Carving art is indispensable in traditional architecture. The wood carving, stone carving, brick carving, and bamboo carving, called the "Four Carvings of Huizhou" (徽州四雕), in their quantity, breadth of content, and beauty of form, are a miracle in the history of folk carving in Ming and Qing China. The "Four Carvings" are most typical in She County (歙县) and Yi County (黟县). Confucian ideals of studying to become an official, blessings, fortune, longevity, and ideal personality are captured by skilled craftsmen into exquisite pictures. The wood carvings depicting stories of 渔樵耕读 (yú qiáo gēng dú - "fisherman, woodcutter, farmer, scholar," representing traditional livelihoods) reflect people's adherence to traditional culture. The stone carving of pine, stone, bamboo, and plum, still yet dynamic, with two strange pines standing on rugged rocks, vigorous and perilous, intertwined bamboo and plum shadows, 相映成趣 (xiāng yìng chéng qù - "mutually reflect, become interest," forming a delightful contrast). The brick carving of lotus and crab with distinct layers uses the homophony of "lotus crab" (荷蟹) and "harmony" (和谐) to imply family harmony. Those wood, stone, brick, and bamboo materials, polished by time, have long lost their initial brightness but have precipitated the poetic feelings of Huizhou people into the most moving annotations, creating a unique regional cultural atmosphere within the enclosure of white walls and black tiles.
Architecture is alive, carrying the craftsmanship of the builders and the feelings of the inhabitants. They are vivid cultural symbols, integrating Confucian ethics, Huizhou people's wisdom, and Huizhou style into wood, stone, brick, and tile, silently guarding the smoke and fire of the human world in stillness.
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