Tongfang Academy
Micro Party Class · Issue 297
Draw strength for advancing from the Yan'an Spirit.
“Theoretical cultivation is the core of the comprehensive quality of Party members and cadres. Theoretical maturity is the foundation for political maturity, and political steadfastness stems from theoretical clarity.” For Party members and cadres, fostering a fine academic style and strengthening theoretical education are both fundamental requirements for cultivating Party spirit and an inescapable political responsibility.
Tongfang Law Firm provides all its lawyers with learning opportunities in the form of micro-party classes, thereby enhancing their ideological and political awareness as well as their spirit of learning and inquiry. By establishing a long-term educational mechanism, the firm has created a new platform for self-education and self-improvement.
Yan'an is a sacred site of the Chinese revolution and the cradle of New China. Recently, the exhibition “Thirteen Years in Yan'an and Chinese-style Modernization” was held at Renmin University of China. Relying on an abundance of historical documents and cultural relics, the exhibition comprehensively reviews the Communist Party of China’s glorious journey during the Yan'an period and its pioneering efforts in exploring the path of Chinese-style modernization, opening a window for a deeper understanding of the historical origins and spiritual blueprint of Chinese-style modernization.
General Secretary Xi Jinping has profoundly pointed out that Chinese-style modernization is deeply rooted in China’s own soil and perfectly suited to China’s actual conditions. Achieving modernization is a universal aspiration shared by people all over the world, yet the paths chosen by different countries vary considerably. Chinese-style modernization is firmly grounded in China’s unique basic national conditions, cultural traditions, and historical destiny. To understand why Chinese-style modernization has achieved such remarkable success today and how it can better chart its course toward the future, we must first trace its historical origins and carefully examine its roots. The Party Central Committee and elder revolutionaries—including Mao Zedong—spent thirteen years living and fighting in Yan'an, writing a magnificent chapter in which the Party led the people through trials of blood and fire to pursue the dream of national rejuvenation and nurtured hopes for modernization on barren land. This period holds profound significance for the development of the path of Chinese-style modernization. During the Yan'an period, our Party matured politically, ideologically, and organizationally, winning the heartfelt support and endorsement of the broad masses of the people with its fundamental principle of wholeheartedly serving the people. This laid a strong leadership foundation and forged a united, cohesive force for Chinese-style modernization. In terms of theoretical exploration, our Party creatively combined the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities, putting forward the important proposition of “Sinicization of Marxism.” Moreover, we articulated a practical path whereby the New Democratic Revolution would create the fundamental social conditions necessary for modernization, thus providing entirely new perspectives for addressing the question of China’s modernization.
The thirteen years in Yan'an were a pivotal period during which the Communist Party of China turned around the country's future and destiny. The fine traditions and work styles left behind by the older generation of revolutionaries and veteran CPC members during the Yan'an period—collectively known as the Yan'an Spirit—constitute our Party’s invaluable spiritual treasure. As we embark on a new historical journey to comprehensively advance the cause of building a strong nation and achieving national rejuvenation through Chinese-style modernization, we must study and make good use of the Party’s historical experiences, steadfastly uphold and carry forward the Yan'an Spirit, draw strength from it to forge ahead, and continuously push this unprecedented great cause forward.
To advance Chinese-style modernization, we must uphold the Party’s leadership. The Party’s leadership determines the fundamental nature of Chinese-style modernization, fuels powerful momentum for its construction, and unites tremendous strength behind its development. It ensures that Chinese-style modernization stays firmly anchored on its goals and progresses steadily and far into the future. Upholding the Party’s leadership is both an essential requirement and the fundamental guarantee of Chinese-style modernization. During the Yan'an period, it was precisely because we upheld the Party’s leadership—especially the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee—that the Chinese revolutionary cause rose from low ebb to a high tide and achieved a historic turning point, enabling the modernization drive to move forward smoothly. Faced with major challenges ahead—the high winds and rough seas, even tumultuous waves—on our new journey, we must unswervingly uphold and improve the Party’s overall leadership. We must deeply appreciate the decisive significance of the “Two Establishments,” enhance our “Four Consciousnesses,” strengthen our “Four Confidences,” and resolutely safeguard the “Two Upholds.” We must consciously maintain high ideological, political, and practical alignment with the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, ensuring that all undertakings of the Party and the state continue to develop along the correct path.
To advance Chinese-style modernization, we must uphold the principle of putting the people first. The people are the creators of history and the main actors in Chinese-style modernization. During the Yan'an period, the Party led and relied on the people to reverse China's destiny and secure great victories in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of People's Liberation. Today, we have embarked on a new path of modernization that differs from the Western model, demonstrating to the world a new logic of socialist modernization centered on the people. To advance Chinese-style modernization, we must adhere to a development philosophy centered on the people, regard the realization of the free and all-round development of individuals as the ultimate goal of modernization, rely closely on the people, respect their spirit of creativity, pool the wisdom and strength of all the people, and ensure that the fruits of modernization benefit all the people more effectively.
To advance Chinese-style modernization, we must steadfastly uphold the principle that the Party’s self-revolution should lead the great social revolution. The courage to carry out self-revolution is the most distinctive feature of the Communist Party of China, and leading the social revolution is the historical mission of Marxist political parties. By using self-revolution to guide the social revolution, our Party has been able to remain vibrant despite a century of vicissitudes and has been the key to our Party’s ability to lead the Chinese revolution, construction, and reform ever onward from one victory to another. During the Yan'an period, our Party corrected its mistakes and upheld the truth through self-revolution, thereby guiding the great revolutionary cause of national independence and people’s liberation toward victory. As we enter a critical period in which we are comprehensively promoting Chinese-style modernization to build a strong country and realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, we need to perpetually maintain the clarity and determination of those who “take the exam,” sustain a high degree of consciousness in using the Party’s self-revolution to lead the social revolution, and persist in governing the Party with a spirit of reform and stringent standards. We must continuously enhance our capacity for self-purification, self-improvement, self-renewal, and self-enhancement, strengthening our physical strength and fortifying our backbone through self-revolution. In this way, we can steadily boost our political leadership, ideological guidance, mass organizational capacity, and social appeal, break new ground in the great social revolution, and steer the cause of Chinese-style modernization forward with unwavering resolve, riding the waves and setting sail for distant horizons.
Source | People's Daily Online, Official Website for Party History Study and Education
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Tongfang Academy Micro-Party Class, Issue 298: How to Enhance the Effectiveness of Warning and Educational Sessions
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Tongfang Academy Micro-Party Class, Episode 296: “People’s Educator” Zhang Jinfan—Dedicated to the Study of Legal History and Carefully Nurturing Future Generations
