Carry Forward the Spirit of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army and Strengthen Ideals and Convictions

The Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army (abbreviated as the Northeast United Army) was an anti-Japanese armed force formed from people of all ethnic groups in the Northeast and created and led by the Communist Party of China. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech at the symposium on promoting the comprehensive revitalization of the Northeast in the New Era pointed out: “Vigorously promote the spirit of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, the Daqing Spirit (Iron Man Spirit), and the Beidahuang Spirit, and guide Party members and cadres to establish a correct outlook on political performance and stimulate the enthusiasm for undertaking affairs and starting businesses.” [1]1 The Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army (东北抗联) was a communist-led guerrilla force that fought against the Japanese occupation of Northeast China from 1931 to 1945. This important exposition profoundly clarifies that firm ideals and convictions are an extremely important spiritual pillar. The fundamental reason why the officers and soldiers of the Northeast United Army in those days could unhesitatingly step forward in the national crisis, could overcome immense hardships and persist in the War of Resistance for a long time, and could remain unyielding and unswerving in the face of torture and death, is that they had the firm conviction of loyalty to the Party. During an inspection tour in Jilin, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “These red resources should be used as vivid teaching materials to strengthen ideals and convictions and enhance Party spirit, and the broad masses of Party members and cadres should be organized to deeply study the history of the Party, the history of New China, the history of reform and opening up, and the history of the development of socialism, so as to educate and guide the broad masses of Party members and cadres to forever retain their original aspiration and forever shoulder their founding mission.” [2]2 久久为功 (jiǔ jiǔ wéi gōng) is a Chinese idiom meaning "to achieve success through sustained and persistent effort over a long time." In the Northeast region, the history of the struggle of the Northeast United Army is undoubtedly the red resource with the deepest accumulation, the most distinctive features, and the most unique value. To thoroughly implement the spirit of this important speech by General Secretary Xi Jinping, we should closely combine it with the practice of the struggle of the Northeast United Army, deeply analyze the deep logic behind the formation of their ideals and convictions, and provide profound theoretical enlightenment and practical guidance for the broad masses of Party members and cadres today to carry forward the spirit of the Northeast United Army, consolidate the foundation of faith, supplement the “calcium” of the spirit, and steady the rudder of thought.

东北抗日联军（简称“东北抗联”），是中国共产党创建并领导的、由东北各族人民组成的抗日武装。习近平总书记在新时代推动东北全面振兴座谈会上的重要讲话指出：“大力弘扬东北抗联精神、大庆精神（铁人精神）、北大荒精神，引导党员、干部树立正确的政绩观，激发干事创业热情。”这一重要论述深刻阐明，坚定的理想信念是至关重要的精神支柱。当年东北抗联将士之所以能够义无反顾地勇赴国难，之所以能够克服巨艰万难长期坚持抗战，之所以能够面对酷刑与死亡仍坚贞不屈，其根本动因在于具有忠诚于党的坚定信念。习近平总书记在吉林考察时指出，“要把这些红色资源作为坚定理想信念、加强党性修养的生动教材，组织广大党员、干部深入学习党史、新中国史、改革开放史、社会主义发展史，教育引导广大党员、干部永葆初心、永担使命”。在东北地区，东北抗联斗争史无疑是积淀最为深厚、特色最为鲜明、价值最为独特的红色资源。深入贯彻落实习近平总书记这一重要讲话精神，应紧密结合东北抗联的斗争实践，深入剖析其理想信念生成的深层逻辑，为当前广大党员、干部传承东北抗联精神、筑牢信仰之基、补足精神之“钙”、把稳思想之舵，提供深刻的理论启迪与实践指引。

One

一

“Whether to believe or not” is the logical starting point for the establishment of ideals and convictions. It requires Party members and cadres, in terms of theoretical cognition and emotional recognition, to deeply identify with the historical inevitability and moral loftiness of the lofty ideal of communism and the common ideal of socialism with Chinese characteristics. At present, the primary crux of the wavering of ideals and convictions among some individual Party members and cadres lies precisely in the lack of faith, failing to grasp the dialectical relationship between the ideal and reality. Historical materialism holds that social being determines social consciousness, while social consciousness has relative independence and exerts an active reaction on social being. In other words, the ideal originates from reality but should be higher than reality and lead the transformation of reality. To confuse the ideal with reality is to dissolve the transcendence and leading power of the ideal. The core pursuit of the Northeast United Army was to overthrow Japanese imperialism and build a new China. This ideal has long been realized, but in those days, there was still a huge gap between this ideal and reality. The harshness of the natural environment in which the Northeast United Army fought the War of Resistance, the extreme shortage of logistical supplies, the disparity in military strength, and the prolonged duration were all extremely rare in the history of human warfare. Faced with these hardships, the broad masses of officers and soldiers of the Northeast United Army remained indomitable and firm in their convictions. On the eve of his sacrifice, Yang Jingyu, the commander-in-chief of the First Route Army of the Northeast United Army, had only a few guards around him. He shared a bowl of gruel boiled with snow water with his comrades and said very calmly to his guards: “Even if all of us here are sacrificed, there will still be people to carry on our cause. The revolution will always succeed.” [3] Yang Jingyu harbored a firm belief in victory in the War of Resistance even in adversity. During an inspection tour in Jilin, General Secretary Xi Jinping once said: “During the War of Resistance against Japan, under extremely harsh conditions, General Yang Jingyu led the anti-Japanese armed forces to fight bloody battles with an enemy several times his own in numbers under minus 40 degrees Celsius. When he died, his stomach was filled with nothing but withered grass, tree bark, and cotton wool — not a single grain of rice. His deeds are shocking to the heart.” [4] Yang Jingyu, with his ardent blood and a stomach full of withered grass, interpreted the firm ideals and convictions of a Communist Party member. If the officers and soldiers of the Northeast United Army in those days had given up the struggle because of the huge gap between the ideal and reality, there would be no legend of this heroic army, let alone the transmission of the spirit of the Northeast United Army. The history of the Northeast United Army deeply enlightens us: a lofty ideal is by no means an escape from the predicament of reality, but the spiritual impetus to break through the historical limitations. Only by consolidating the foundation of “belief” at the cognitive level can the beacon of ideals and convictions truly illuminate the way forward.

“信不信”是理想信念确立的逻辑起点。它要求党员、干部在理论认知和情感体认上，深刻认同共产主义远大理想和中国特色社会主义共同理想的历史必然性与道义崇高性。当前个别党员、干部理想信念动摇，其首要症结即在于信仰的缺失，未能把握理想与现实的辩证关系。历史唯物主义认为，社会存在决定社会意识，社会意识具有相对独立性并对社会存在具有能动的反作用。换言之，理想源于现实，更应高于现实并引领现实变革，将理想与现实混为一谈，便消解了理想的超越性与引领力。东北抗联的核心追求是打倒日本帝国主义、建设新中国，这一理想早已实现，但是在当年，这个理想和现实之间还存在较大的差距。当年东北抗联抗日斗争的自然环境之恶劣，后勤给养之奇缺，兵力对比之悬殊，持续时间之漫长，在人类战争史上都是极为罕见的。面对这些艰难困苦，广大东北抗联将士坚贞不屈、信念如磐。东北抗联第一路军总司令杨靖宇牺牲前夕，身边只剩下几个警卫员，他和战士们同吃着一碗用雪水熬煮的糊糊，十分沉静地对警卫员说：“就是我们这些人都牺牲了，还会有人继承我们的事业，革命总是会成功的。”杨靖宇在逆境中仍怀揣抗战必胜的坚定信念。习近平总书记在吉林考察时曾说：“抗日战争时期，在极其恶劣的条件下，杨靖宇将军领导抗日武装冒着零下四十摄氏度的严寒，同数倍于己的敌人浴血奋战，牺牲时胃里全是枯草、树皮、棉絮，没有一粒粮食，其事迹震撼人心。”杨靖宇用一腔热血和满腹枯草，诠释了一名共产党员坚定的理想信念。倘若当年东北抗联将士因理想与现实的巨大鸿沟而放弃抗争，便不会有这支英雄队伍的传奇，更无从谈起东北抗联精神的传承。东北抗联历史深刻启示我们：崇高理想绝非对现实困境的逃避，而是突破历史局限性的精神原动力。唯有在认知层面筑牢“信”的根基，理想信念的灯塔才能真正照亮前行的道路。

Two

二

“Whether to do it or not” is the logical landing point for putting ideals and convictions into practice. It requires Party members and cadres to internalize lofty faith in the heart and externalize it in action, consciously practicing the original aspiration and founding mission. Looking back at history, after the September 18th Incident, the nation was humiliated, the people were oppressed, and civilization was sullied. [5] In the face of choices between family and country, life and death, wealth and poverty, ease and hardship, the broad masses of officers and soldiers of the Northeast United Army unhesitatingly shouldered the heavy responsibility of saving the nation from peril and rescuing the people from misery, composing a magnificent epic of “the revolutionary ideal is higher than the sky” with their flesh and blood. [6] Among the Northeast United Army group were professional revolutionaries, university professors, students, and so on. For example, Feng Zhongyun, political commissar of the Third Route Army of the Northeast United Army, entered the mathematics department of Tsinghua University at the age of 18 and taught at the Harbin Merchant Marine School at 22. [7] When the nation was in peril, he resolutely abandoned his comfortable life, went to the anti-Japanese battlefield, endured crawling on ice and snow, hunger and cold, and survived countless brushes with death. Yang Jingyu bid farewell to his beloved family for the revolutionary cause. Wei Zhengmin, after traveling over a thousand miles, died of illness in a secret camp. [8] The red capitalist Zhu Shouyi sold his family wealth to relieve the nation’s difficulties and joined the ranks of the Northeast United Army. [9] The national righteousness of the Northeast United Army officers and soldiers in unhesitatingly stepping forward in the national crisis is a true portrayal of transforming ideals and convictions into the practice of saving the nation. The history of the Northeast United Army profoundly demonstrates: to strengthen ideals and convictions, one must not only aim high but also put them into practice; one must not only internalize them in the heart but also externalize them in action. Today, we should also deeply guard against the dictum that “empty talk harms the country” and forever maintain the ambition that “hard work rejuvenates the nation.” [10] Only by highly unifying knowledge and action in the great undertaking of national rejuvenation and power can we demonstrate the firm ideals and convictions of Communists on the new journey of the New Era.

“做不做”是理想信念付诸实践的逻辑落点。它要求党员、干部将崇高信仰内化于心、外化于行，自觉践行初心使命。回溯历史，九一八事变后，国家蒙辱、人民蒙难、文明蒙尘。东北抗联广大将士在家与国、生与死、富贵与贫穷、安逸与艰辛的抉择面前，义无反顾担负起挽救民族危难、解救同胞于水火的时代重任，以血肉之躯谱写了“革命理想高于天”的壮丽史诗。东北抗联群体中有的是职业革命家，有的是大学教授，有的是学生……如东北抗联第三路军政委冯仲云，18岁考入清华大学数学系，22岁到哈尔滨商船学校任教。国难当头，他毅然抛弃优越生活，奔赴抗日战场，爬冰卧雪、忍饥挨饿、九死一生。杨靖宇为革命事业诀别至亲，魏拯民跨越千里病逝密营，红色资本家朱守一毁家纾难加入东北抗联队伍……东北抗联将士勇赴国难的民族大义，正是将理想信念转化为救国实践的真实写照。东北抗联历史深刻昭示：坚定理想信念，既要志存高远，更须身体力行；既要内化于心，更要外化于行。我们今天亦当深戒“空谈误国”之训，永葆“实干兴邦”之志。唯有将知与行高度统一于强国复兴的伟业之中，方能在新时代新征程上展现共产党人坚定的理想信念。

Three

三

“How long to do it” is the logical fulcrum for ideals and convictions to withstand tests. It requires Party members and cadres to fuse their cognitive identification with truth and their conscious action in the mission into an indomitable will and character, exhibiting the resilience and steadiness of faith in long-term struggles and complex tests. Looking back at the arduous years of the Northeast United Army, one episode is moving: in the deep autumn of 1939, supplies were cut off. Zhou Baozhong, the commander-in-chief of the Second Route Army of the Northeast United Army, faced a situation where some soldiers, in extreme despair, asked to leave the ranks. He did not force them. [11] He gathered the remaining comrades and announced with pain and firmness: “Now we are indeed facing the problem of life and death. At present, it is already late autumn; we can no longer eat grass, and we have no cotton-padded clothes. We may starve or freeze to death. They have left. Please, comrades, make your decision. Those who wish to go may go, as long as you leave your guns. You can find a way to survive. Even if only I, Zhou Baozhong, am left, I will still resist Japan to the end!” Upon hearing these words, the whole scene was filled with sobbing. Immediately, the 120 people stood up in unison and shouted without prior arrangement: “We are not leaving. We will die together with Commander Zhou!” In the face of the extremely harsh environment in those days, some people retreated and became deserters, which also highlights the steadfastness of Zhou Baozhong and others. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: “The original aspiration is easy to acquire, but it

“做多久”是理想信念经受考验的逻辑支点。它要求党员、干部将对真理的认知认同、对使命的行动自觉，熔铸为百折不挠的意志品质，在长期斗争与复杂考验中展现信仰的韧性与定力。回溯东北抗联艰苦卓绝的岁月，一个片段令人动容：1939年深秋，给养断绝，东北抗联第二路军总指挥周保中面对部分战士因极度绝望而请求离队的局面，并未强求。他召集仅存的战友，沉痛而坚定地宣布：“现在我们确实面临着生与死的问题。眼下，已是深秋了，草也不能吃了，棉衣也没有，我们可能会饿死、冻死。他们走了，请同志们决定，愿走的走，只要把枪留下，尽可以去找条活路，就是剩下我周保中一个人，也要抗日到底！”听了这些话，全场一片唏嘘。顿时120人齐刷刷地站起来，不约而同地高喊：“我们不走，死也要同周总指挥死在一起！”当年面对异常艰苦的环境，有些人退却了，当了逃兵，这也正反衬了周保中等人的坚定。习近平总书记强调：“初心易得，始终难守。”革命战争年代的生死考验以及和平建设时期的权力考验，其本质都是对信仰韧性之核——“做多久”这一关涉意志的终极叩问。唯有在时间的磨砺与复杂斗争的淬炼中，不断夯实信仰的根基，方能确保理想信念历久弥坚。

Recall history: the officers and soldiers of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, under conditions of extreme danger and with virtually no hope of victory, still adhered to their convictions and fought bloody battles. Today, vigorously promoting the spirit of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army[1]1 The Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army (东北抗联) was a communist-led guerrilla force that fought against the Japanese occupation of Northeast China from 1931 to 1945. lies first in building a solid foundation of faith, focusing on solving the ideological and cognitive problem of "whether one truly believes"; second, in strengthening practical action and responsibility, effectively solving the practical action problem of "whether one truly acts"; and finally, in honing perseverance and resilience, continuously addressing the issue of enduring stamina of "how long one can act". Only by transforming firm ideals and convictions into the practice of facing challenges head-on and achieving success through sustained effort[2]2 久久为功 (jiǔ jiǔ wéi gōng) is a Chinese idiom meaning "to achieve success through sustained and persistent effort over a long time." can we open up a new situation for the great cause of building a strong country and rejuvenating the nation.

回望历史，东北抗联将士们在极端艰险、几乎看不到胜利希望的条件下，依然坚守信念、浴血奋战。今天，大力弘扬东北抗联精神，首要在于筑牢信念之基，着力破解“是否真信”的思想认识问题；其次在于强化实干担当，切实解决“是否真干”的实践行动问题；最终在于砥砺恒心韧劲，持续应对“能干多久”的持久耐力问题。唯有将坚定的理想信念转化为迎难而上、久久为功的奋斗实践，方能开辟强国复兴伟业的崭新局面。

(Author: Zhong Haitao, researcher at the Jilin Provincial Research Center for the Theory of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, and Director of the Party Building Teaching and Research Department at the Party School of the Jilin Provincial Committee of the CPC [Jilin Academy of Governance].)

（作者：仲海涛，系吉林省中国特色社会主义理论体系研究中心研究员、中共吉林省委党校〔吉林省行政学院〕党建教研部主任）

Online editor: Tongxin.

网络编辑：同心