Mao Zedong’s Philosophical Reflections on the Discipline of the Chinese Communist Party

From the time he participated in the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, Mao Zedong attached great importance to the extreme significance of Party discipline for Party building and development, making the Chinese Communist Party a proletarian revolutionary party that emphasizes discipline construction, stresses disciplinary norms, and strictly enforces discipline, thereby laying a solid foundation for the great victory of the Chinese revolution. Mao’s emphasis on Party discipline contains rich ideological connotations, not only in elucidating the disciplinary requirements of the Chinese Communist Party and their necessity and importance in a general sense, but also in employing Marxist philosophy to conduct profound philosophical reflections on the issue of Party discipline, so that Party discipline is not merely embodied in concrete and feasible rules and regulations but also possesses a solid Marxist philosophical foundation. This made the discipline of the Chinese Communist Party a norm and requirement with a Marxist theoretical basis, gaining widespread recognition among the broad membership and achieving resolute and effective collective compliance. These philosophical reflections of Mao, having been tested in practice through the hundred-year struggle of the Chinese Communist Party, still hold important enlightening significance and guiding function for strengthening Party discipline construction today and continuing to advance the Sinicization of Marxist philosophy.

毛泽东自参与中国共产党创建时起，就十分重视党的纪律对于党的建设和发展的极端重要性，使中国共产党成为一个重视纪律建设、强调纪律规范、严格纪律执行的无产阶级革命党，为中国革命的伟大胜利奠定了坚实基础。毛泽东对于党的纪律的重视包含了丰富的思想内涵，不仅在于从一般意义上阐明了中国共产党的纪律要求及其必要性和重要性，而且运用马克思主义哲学对党的纪律问题进行了深刻的哲学思考，使党的纪律不只体现为具体可行的规矩条文，而且具有了坚实的马克思主义哲学基础。这就使中国共产党的纪律成为有着马克思主义理论根据的规范和要求，获得了广大党员的普遍认同，得到了坚决有效的共同遵守。毛泽东的这些哲学思考，经过了中国共产党百年奋斗的实践检验，对于我们今天加强党的纪律建设、继续推进马克思主义哲学中国化，仍然有着重要的启迪意义和指南作用。

I. Reflecting on the Issue of Chinese Communist Party Discipline from the Perspective of Historical Materialism

一、从唯物史观出发思考中国共产党的纪律问题

When Mao Zedong participated in the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, he sought to reflect on and explore the issue of Party discipline from the perspective of historical materialism, which he had only recently mastered. Between 1920 and 1921, he and his close friend Cai Hesen, through correspondence between China and France, reflected on and explored the issue of founding the Chinese Communist Party; one very important aspect of this was how to view the philosophical foundation of the Party and how to determine the Party’s organizational principles, so as to draw a clear line between the Party and the then-prevalent anarchism in terms of ideology; it was precisely this reflection and exploration that highlighted the extreme importance of establishing iron discipline for the Chinese Communist Party. This became the initial content of Mao Zedong’s philosophical reflections on the issue of Chinese Communist Party discipline.

毛泽东在参与中国共产党创建之时，就力求从他刚刚掌握的唯物史观出发，来思考和探讨党的纪律问题。1920年至1921年之间，他与好友蔡和森通过中法两国间的书信往来，对中国共产党创建问题进行了思考和探讨；其中一个很重要的内容，就是如何看待党的哲学基础、如何确定党的组织原则，使党从思想上与当时盛行的无政府主义划清界限；正是这一思考和探讨，凸显了建立铁的纪律之于中国共产党的极端重要性。这成为毛泽东对中国共产党纪律问题所作哲学思考的最初内容。

In his letter to Mao Zedong dated September 16, 1920, Cai Hesen, based on the experience of Party building in Lenin’s Bolshevik Party, discussed two important issues that needed to be addressed in founding the Chinese Communist Party: first, the issue of the Party’s philosophical foundation, and second, the issue of the Party’s organizational principles. He further proposed “openly and formally establishing a Chinese Communist Party.” On the first issue, he emphasized that the Chinese Communist Party must take Marx’s historical materialism as its philosophical foundation, pointing out: “The world today is clearly divided into two hostile class worlds, and theories are also clearly demarcated. The philosophical thought since Plato’s domination (philosophy of life, social philosophy) is clearly the thought of the propertied class. Its characteristic is emphasizing the ideal over life, emphasizing the spiritual over the material. Marx’s historical materialism is clearly the thought of the proletariat. Taking historical materialism as the starting point for the philosophy of life and social philosophy results in the opposite of the propertied class’s idealist school (Id’eologic), so when we study knowledge today, we should first distinguish clearly between idealism and materialism, so as not to fall into a maze.” On the second issue, he emphasized that the Chinese Communist Party should, like the Russian Bolshevik Party, be a proletarian revolutionary party with a clear banner, a tight organization, and iron discipline. He said: “I believe that unless we organize a Communist Party consistent with Russia (consistent in principle and method), the mass movement, the labor movement, and the reform movement will all lack strength and thoroughness.” Specifically on the issue of Party discipline, he emphasized that Party members “must abide by the Party’s ‘iron discipline’,” believing that: “The Party’s organization is an extremely centralized organization, and the Party’s discipline is iron discipline; only in this way can we cultivate a small number of highly conscious and highly organized elements to adapt to the era of war and to undertake the great cause of transformation.” Cai Hesen thus criticized anarchism, pointing out that although anarchism also takes the realization of communism as its goal and is consistent with Marxism in its ultimate objective, its approach of transcending historical conditions by immediately negating political parties, authority, and the state fundamentally cannot achieve this goal. He said: “The ultimate ideal of the anarchist party, I believe, is no different from Lenin’s. But to reach the stage of anarchy, I think it must necessarily go through the method now used by Russia; the dictatorship of the proletariat is the only method; there is no other method. Ask yourself, without political power in hand, how can you transform society? How can you organize communist production and consumption?” Therefore, he emphasized that for the Chinese Communist Party to carry out revolution in China, it must draw a clear line with anarchism.

蔡和森在1920年9月16日致毛泽东的信中，根据列宁领导的布尔什维克党的建设经验，谈了创建中国共产党需要抓住的两个重要问题，一是党的哲学基础问题，二是党的组织原则问题，进而提出“明目张胆正式成立一个中国共产党”。在第一个问题上，他强调中国共产党必须以马克思的唯物史观作为自己的哲学基础，指出：“现在世界显然为两个敌对的阶级世界，学说亦显然划了鸿沟。自柏拉图统御以来的哲学思想，(人生哲学，社会哲学)显然为有产阶级的思想。其特点重理想轻生活，重精神轻物质。马克思的唯物史观，显然为无产阶级的思想。以唯物史观为人生哲学社会哲学的出发点，结果适与有产阶级的唯理派(Id’eologic)相反，故我们今日研究学问，宜先把唯理观与唯物观分个清楚，才不至堕入迷阵。”在第二个问题上，他强调中国共产党应当像俄国布尔什维克党那样是一个旗帜鲜明、组织严密、具有铁的纪律的无产阶级革命党。他说：“我以为非组织与俄一致的(原理方法都一致)共产党，则民众运动、劳动运动、改造运动皆不会有力，不会彻底。”具体到党的纪律问题上，他强调党员“须守党的‘铁的纪律’”,认为：“党的组织为极集权的组织，党的纪律为铁的纪律，必如此才能养成少数极觉悟极有组织的份子，适应战争时代及担负偌大的改造事业。”蔡和森由此对无政府主义进行了批判，指出无政府主义固然也以实现共产主义为其目标，与马克思主义在最终目标上有一致性，但他们超越历史条件，在当下就否定政党、否定权威、否定国家的做法，是根本实现不了这一目标的。他说：“无政府党最后的理想我以列宁与他无二致。不过要做到无政府的地步，我以为一定要经俄国现在所用的方法，无产阶级专政乃是一个唯一无二的方法，舍此无方法。试问政权不在手，怎样去改造社会?怎样去组织共产主义的生产和消费?”因此，他强调中国共产党要在中国进行革命，必须与无政府主义划清界限。

Mao Zedong attached great importance to this letter from Cai Hesen and replied on January 21, 1921. Before replying, Mao had introduced Cai Hesen’s views at the New Year’s meeting of the Xinmin Society members held at the beginning of that month and discussed which doctrine to choose to transform China and the world. He summarized the world’s methods for solving social problems into five categories: social policy, social democracy, the communism of radical methods (Lenin’s doctrine), the communism of moderate methods (Russell’s doctrine), and anarchism. He then commented on each one by one and reached a general conclusion: “Social policy is a policy of patching up leaks; it is not a solution. Social democracy uses parliament as a tool for transformation, but in fact parliamentary legislation always protects the propertied class. Anarchism denies power; this doctrine, I fear, can never be realized in all eternity. The communism of moderate methods, such as Russell’s advocacy of extreme freedom and letting capitalists be, can also never be realized in all eternity. The communism of radical methods, that is, the doctrine of the workers and peasants, uses the method of class dictatorship; its effects can be predicted, so it is the most suitable to adopt.” Here, like Cai Hesen, he firmly chose the “communism of radical methods” advocated by Lenin and decisively rejected other methods such as anarchism. This view was endorsed by the majority of the participants. It was thus that in this reply, Mao expressed complete agreement with the views in Cai Hesen’s letter, stating, “Your letter is extremely correct in its views; I do not have a single word of disagreement,” which naturally included agreement with Cai Hesen’s view that “the Party’s discipline is iron discipline.” Regarding the issues of the Party’s philosophical foundation and organizational principles raised in Cai Hesen’s letter, Mao clearly expressed his own views in the reply, advocating historical materialism as the philosophical foundation of the Chinese Communist Party and using historical materialism to criticize anarchism and guide the founding work of the Chinese Communist Party. He pointed out: “Historical materialism is the philosophical basis of our Party; this is a fact, unlike idealism, which cannot be verified and is easily shaken.” He also pointed out: “I do not now recognize that the principle of anarchism is a verifiable principle; there are very strong reasons for this. The political organization of a factory (factory production, distribution, management, etc.) and the political organization of a state, and the political organization of the world, differ only in size, not in nature. Syndicalism holds that the political organization of the state and the political organization of the factory are different in nature, treating them as separate matters and assigning them to different kinds of people; this is either a deliberate distortion to seek temporary ease, or it is ignorance and lack of understanding of the truth. Moreover, there is the very necessary reason in terms of means that without seizing political power, it is impossible to launch a revolution, impossible to protect a revolution, and impossible to complete a revolution.” Thus, starting from historical materialism, he compared modern industrial organization with modern state organization, illustrating that from material production to the political state, modern society requires authority and discipline, and that carrying out revolution and seizing political power even more so cannot lack authority and discipline, thereby criticizing the erroneous anarchist view of transcending historical conditions by immediately negating political parties, authority, and the state. From this reply, it can be seen that Mao Zedong, like Cai Hesen, emphasized that the Chinese Communist Party must have a tight organization and iron discipline, rather than being a loose, decentralized organization similar to a syndicalist group lacking centralized unity.

毛泽东对于蔡和森的这封来信甚为重视，在1921年1月21日作了回复。在回复之前，毛泽东曾在该月初举行的新民学会会员新年大会上，向与会会员介绍蔡和森的主张，并就选择何种主义来改造中国与世界进行了探讨。他将世界解决社会问题的方法，归纳为社会政策、社会民主主义、激烈方法的共产主义(列宁的主义)、温和方法的共产主义(罗素的主义)和无政府主义五种方法，进而逐一予以评论，得出了总的结论：“社会政策，是补苴罅漏的政策，不成办法。社会民主主义，借议会为改造工具，但事实上议会的立法总是保护有产阶级的。无政府主义否认权力，这种主义恐怕永世都做不到。温和方法的共产主义，如罗素所主张极端的自由，放任资本家，亦是永世做不到的。激烈方法的共产主义，即所谓劳农主义，用阶级专政的方法，是可以预计效果的，故最宜采用。”在这里，他像蔡和森一样，坚定地选择了列宁所主张的“激烈方法的共产主义”,而断然否定了无政府主义等其他方法。这一主张得到了大多数与会者的赞同。正是这样，毛泽东在这封回信中表示完全赞同蔡和森来信的主张，称“你这一封信见地极当，我没有一个字不赞成”,这其中当然也包括赞成蔡和森的“党的纪律为铁的纪律”的主张。对于蔡和森来信谈到的党的哲学基础问题和组织原则问题，毛泽东在回信中明确地表达了自己的看法，主张以唯物史观作为中国共产党的哲学基础，并以唯物史观批判无政府主义、指导中国共产党的创建工作。他指出：“唯物史观是吾党哲学的根据，这是事实，不像唯理观之不能证实而容易被人摇动。”又指出：“我现在不承认无政府的原理是可以证实的原理，有很强固的理由。一个工厂的政治组织(工厂生产、分配、管理等),与一个国的政治组织，与世界的政治组织，只有大小不同，没有性质不同。工团主义以国的政治组织与工厂的政治组织异性，谓为另一回事而举以属之另一种人，不是故为曲说以冀苟且偷安，就是愚陋不明事理之正。况乎尚有非得政权则不能发动革命，不能保护革命，不能完成革命，在手段上又有十分必要的理由呢。”这就从唯物史观出发，将现代工业组织和现代国家组织相比较，说明了现代社会从物质生产到政治国家都必须要有权威和纪律，进行革命、夺取政权更不能缺少权威和纪律，批判了无政府主义超越历史条件，在当下就否定政党、否定权威、否定国家的错误主张。从这封回信中可以看出，毛泽东和蔡和森一样，都强调中国共产党必须要有严密的组织和铁的纪律，而不是一个松散的缺乏集中统一的类似工团主义组织的团体。

In the history of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, these two letters between Cai Hesen and Mao Zedong are the earliest documents reflecting on and exploring the problem of Party discipline. They laid the first Marxist theoretical cornerstone for the construction and development of the Chinese Communist Party’s discipline. Their significance has long since transcended the intellectual exchange between the two men, and also transcended the scope of activities of the Xinmin Society [3]3 The Xinmin Society (新民学会) was a progressive student organization founded by Mao Zedong and Cai Hesen in Changsha in 1918, many of whose members later became early leaders of the CPC. they founded. Mao Zedong, with great foresight, already revealed this significance at the time. Shortly after replying to Cai Hesen’s letter, he completed the compilation and printing of the third collection of *Correspondence of Members of the Xinmin Society*. When he included Cai Hesen’s letter in this collection, he added the striking prompt phrase “An Important Discussion on the Communist Party” before the letter. These eight characters can truly be called the finishing touch and a clear-cut statement, foreshadowing the extreme importance of this discussion between them for the Chinese Communist Party. Subsequent history has proven that this discussion was indeed an “important discussion on the Communist Party”: their initial philosophical reflections on the discipline problem of the Chinese Communist Party, from one aspect, embodied the great original aspiration of the Party’s founders, profoundly influenced the century-long struggle of the Chinese Communist Party, and are still worth remembering by Chinese Communists today. It can be said that from that time onward, the discipline problem of the Chinese Communist Party became a key link in Party building and development.

在中国共产党创建史上，蔡和森和毛泽东的这两封书信，是对中国共产党纪律问题进行思考和探讨的最早文献，奠定了中国共产党的纪律建设和发展的第一块马克思主义理论基石，其意义早已超越了两人之间的思想交流，也超越了他们创立的新民学会的活动范围。毛泽东在当时就已高瞻远瞩地揭示了这一意义。就在回复蔡和森来信不久，他完成了《新民学会会员通信集》第三集的编印。他在将蔡和森的这封信收入集中时，在信前加了“共产党之重要讨论”的醒目提示语。这八个字真可谓画龙点睛之笔、旗帜鲜明之语，预示了他们之间的这一讨论之于中国共产党的极端重要性。以后的历史已经证明，这一讨论确确实实是关于“共产党之重要讨论”:他们对于中国共产党纪律问题的最初哲学思考，从一个方面体现了中国共产党创建者们的伟大初心，深刻影响了中国共产党的百年奋斗历程，至今都值得中国共产党人铭记。可以说，从那时候起，中国共产党的纪律问题就成为党的建设和发展的一个关键性环节。

The idea put forward by Cai Hesen in his letter—that “the Party organization must be a highly centralized organization, and Party discipline must be iron discipline; only thus can we cultivate a small number of highly conscious and highly organized elements to adapt to the era of war and shoulder the great task of transformation”—this idea came directly from Lenin’s book *“Left-Wing” Communism: An Infantile Disorder*. In the second chapter of that book, Lenin pointed out that the experience of the Russian proletariat in achieving victory in the dictatorship of the proletariat clearly shows that “the proletariat needs unconditional centralization and the strictest discipline in order to defeat the bourgeoisie.” This work of Lenin’s was published in June 1920, and Cai Hesen was the first Chinese person to recognize and absorb this idea of Lenin’s. According to the recollections of Li Weihan [4]4 Li Weihan (李维汉, 1896–1984) was an early CPC member who studied in France alongside Cai Hesen and later held senior Party posts, including head of the United Front Work Department., a member of the Xinmin Society who went to France at the same time as Cai Hesen, among the multiple original Marxist-Leninist works translated by Cai Hesen that he read at the time, there was *“Left-Wing” Communism: An Infantile Disorder*. Later, Mao Zedong placed great importance on this work of Lenin’s, repeatedly emphasizing the need to value Lenin’s exposition on the problem of Party discipline in the book. During the Yan’an Rectification Movement [5]5 The Yan’an Rectification Movement (延安整风运动, 1942–1945) was a Party-wide ideological education campaign aimed at correcting deviations from Maoist orthodoxy, particularly subjectivism, sectarianism, and Party formalism., he said: “As a Party member, iron discipline must be enforced. The hoop on the Monkey King’s head was made of gold; Lenin, discussing Communist Party discipline, said discipline is iron, which is even more formidable and harder than the Monkey King’s golden hoop. This is recorded in books; it is in *“Left-Wing” Communism: An Infantile Disorder*.” In his oral political report and concluding remarks at the Seventh National Congress of the CPC [6]6 The Seventh National Congress of the CPC (党的七大, held in Yan’an in April–June 1945) was the first full Party congress in 17 years; it formally enshrined Mao Zedong Thought as the Party’s guiding ideology., he proposed to all Party cadres: “We must read five Marxist-Leninist books.” He said: “I recommend these five books to everyone: *The Communist Manifesto*, *Socialism: Utopian and Scientific*, *Two Tactics of Social-Democracy in the Democratic Revolution*, *“Left-Wing” Communism: An Infantile Disorder*, and *History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks): Short Course*. Here we have Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin. If five thousand to ten thousand people have read them and have a general understanding, that will be very good and very beneficial.” He also said: “Lenin’s two books are very well written; the two books by Marx and Engels are also very well written. These four books are thin; reading them doesn’t take much time.” He also said: “We can put these five books in our dry rations bags; after fighting a battle, read them once or look at a sentence or two. If there’s no flavor, put them aside; if there is flavor, read a few more sentences. Read them seven or eight times and you’ll find the flavor.” In April 1948, he wrote a comment on the cover of *“Left-Wing” Communism: An Infantile Disorder*: “Please ask comrades to read the second chapter of this book, so that comrades understand the necessity of eliminating certain serious states of indiscipline or anarchy that currently exist in our work.” Mao Zedong’s emphasis on *“Left-Wing” Communism: An Infantile Disorder* and his stress on Lenin’s exposition of the problem of Party discipline in the book can trace their ideological source back to this letter from France by Cai Hesen, which he once praised highly.

蔡和森在信中所提出的“党的组织为极集权的组织，党的纪律为铁的纪律，必如此才能养成少数极觉悟极有组织的分子，适应战争时代及担负偌大的改造事业”,这一思想直接来自列宁所著《共产主义运动中的“左派”幼稚病》一书。列宁在该书第二章中指出，俄国无产阶级专政取得胜利的经验清楚地表明，“无产阶级实现无条件的集中和极严格的纪律，是战胜资产阶级的基本条件之一”。列宁的这部著作出版于1920年6月，蔡和森是最早认同和吸取列宁这一思想的中国人。据与蔡和森同时赴法的新民学会会员李维汉回忆，在他当时所读蔡和森翻译的多部马列原著中，就有《共产主义运动中的‘左派’幼稚病》一书。后来毛泽东十分重视列宁的这一著作，多次强调要重视列宁在书中关于共产党纪律问题的论述。他在延安整风时说：“身为党员，铁的纪律就非执行不可。孙行者头上套的箍是金的，列宁论共产党的纪律说纪律是铁的，比孙行者的金箍还厉害，还硬，这是上了书的，《共产主义运动中的“左派”幼稚病》上就有。”在党的七大的口头政治报告和结论中，他向全党干部提出“我们要读五本马列主义的书”,他说：“我向大家推荐这五本书：《共产党宣言》、《社会主义从空想到科学的发展》、《在民主革命中社会民主党的两个策略》、《共产主义运动中的‘左派’幼稚病》、《联共(布)党史简明教程》,这里马、恩、列、斯的都有了。如果有五千人到一万人读过了，并且有大体的了解，那就很好，很有益处。”又说：“列宁这两本书写得很好，马克思、恩格斯写的那两本书也写得很好，这四本书薄薄的，读完它们不用花很多时间。”还说：“我们可以把这五本书装在干粮袋里，打完仗后，就读他一遍或者看他一两句，没有味道就放起来，有味道就多看几句，七看八看就看出味道来了。”1948年4月，他在《共产主义运动中的“左派”幼稚病》封面上写下批语：“请同志们看此书的第二章，使同志们懂得必须消灭现在我们工作中的某些严重的无纪律状态或无政府状态。”毛泽东对《共产主义运动中的“左派”幼稚病》一书的重视，对列宁在书中关于共产党纪律问题论述的强调，其思想源头可以追溯至他曾赞扬备至的蔡和森这封法国来信。

It needs to be explained that anarchism, which once circulated in China’s intellectual world, as a trend of political philosophy, was introduced to China in the decade before the Xinhai Revolution [7]7 The Xinhai Revolution (辛亥革命, 1911) overthrew the Qing dynasty and established the Republic of China., reached its peak during the New Culture Movement [8]8 The New Culture Movement (新文化运动, mid-1910s–1920s) was a Chinese intellectual and cultural movement that promoted modernisation, science, democracy, and vernacular literature, often challenging Confucian tradition. from 1915 to 1924, and gradually lost its vitality and influence after entering the 1930s. The founding period of the Chinese Communist Party was precisely the time when anarchism reached its peak in China’s intellectual world. Many progressive young people could not distinguish the difference between Marxism and anarchism, and some anarchists even participated in the founding activities of the Chinese Communist Party. This is precisely the reason why Mao Zedong and Cai Hesen emphasized drawing a clear line of demarcation with anarchism. The “certain serious states of indiscipline or anarchy that currently exist in our work” that Mao Zedong later emphasized must be eliminated refers to the state of lacking organizational concepts and disciplinary concepts within the revolutionary ranks, resulting in an inability to achieve centralized unity. It does not refer to the existence within the revolutionary ranks of anarchists who believe in Bakunin or Kropotkin and their political philosophical propositions.

需要说明的是，曾在中国思想世界一度流行的无政府主义，作为一种政治哲学思潮，是在辛亥革命前十年间引入中国，至1915—1924年新文化运动时期达到鼎盛，进入20世纪30年代后逐渐失去活力和影响。中国共产党创建时期，正是无政府主义在中国思想世界达到鼎盛之时，不少追求进步的新青年弄不清马克思主义与无政府主义的区别，甚至有的无政府主义者也参与了中国共产党的创建活动，这正是毛泽东和蔡和森强调要与无政府主义划清界限的缘由。而毛泽东后来所强调必须消灭的“现在我们工作中的某些严重的无纪律状态或无政府状态”,是指革命队伍中存在的缺乏组织观念、纪律观念而不能集中统一的状况，并不是指革命队伍中还存在信奉巴枯宁或克鲁泡特金的无政府主义者和他们的政治哲学主张。

2. Elucidating the Dialectics of Party Spirit and Individuality

二、阐明党性与个性的辩证法

While emphasizing that the discipline of the Chinese Communist Party is iron discipline, there is also a practical problem that must be faced and taken seriously: the Party as a whole and the individual Party member as an individual cannot, in fact, be equated; objective differences and distinctions exist. This is because the Party is composed of individual Party members; it is impossible to speak of the Party as a whole or of the Party’s unified discipline apart from the individuals who are Party members. Regarding this problem, Mao Zedong actually had a process of reflection and exploration; it was not already clarified and resolved at the beginning of the Party’s founding or the army’s founding when he emphasized the discipline of the Party and the people’s army. It was only in the late 1930s, after he had studied and taught dialectical materialism in northern Shaanxi, written the philosophical masterpieces *On Practice* and *On Contradiction*, and established the “practice theory” philosophical system with these as its core, that he used the law of the unity of opposites of materialist dialectics to provide a profound clarification and thorough resolution of this problem from a philosophical perspective. This became the main content of Mao Zedong’s philosophical reflections on the discipline problem of the Chinese Communist Party.

在强调中国共产党的纪律是铁的纪律的时候，还有一个现实的问题必须面对和重视：作为整体的党和作为个体的党员，实际上不可能等同起来，客观上存在着差异和区别。因为党是由一个个党员的个体组成的，不可能离开一个个党员的个体来讲作为整体的党、来讲党的统一纪律。对于这个问题，毛泽东实有一个思考和探讨的过程，并不是在建党之初或建军之初强调党和人民军队的纪律时就已经阐明和解决的；只有在20世纪30年代后期，他通过在陕北钻研和讲授辩证唯物主义，写出哲学名篇《实践论》和《矛盾论》,以此为内核创立“实践论”哲学体系后，才运用唯物辩证法的对立统一法则，对这个问题从哲学上作出了深刻阐明和透彻解决。这成为毛泽东对中国共产党纪律问题所作哲学思考的主体内容。

At the beginning of *On Contradiction*, Mao Zedong pointed out: “The law of contradiction in things, that is, the law of the unity of opposites, is the most fundamental law of materialist dialectics.” He demanded that Chinese Communists learn to use the law of the unity of opposites of materialist dialectics to view objective things, including the various contradictions existing within the Chinese Communist Party. In his view, differences and distinctions between things are in fact contradictions. In 1937, in his notes on reading Ai Siqi’s book *Philosophy and Life*, he disagreed with Ai’s statement that “difference is not contradiction,” and instead held that: “Difference is contradiction in all things in the world under certain conditions; therefore difference is contradiction, this is what is called concrete contradiction.” The differences and distinctions between the Party as a whole and the individual Party member as an individual, according to his understanding of difference, are in fact contradictions. Therefore, how to view the relationship between the Party and Party members, how to handle the relationship between the Party and Party members, how to make Party members align with the Party in terms of discipline, and so on—these all boil down to the problem of how to handle the contradiction between the Party as a whole and the individual Party member as an individual. To correctly handle this problem of contradiction, the only effective method is, of course, materialist dialectics.

在《矛盾论》的开篇，毛泽东就指出：“事物的矛盾法则，即对立统一的法则，是唯物辩证法的最根本的法则。”他要求中国共产党人学会运用唯物辩证法的对立统一法则来看待客观事物，包括看待中国共产党内存在的各种矛盾。在他看来，事物之间的差异和区别其实也就是矛盾。1937年，他在读艾思奇著《哲学与生活》一书的摘记中，不赞成艾著的“差别不是矛盾”的说法，而认为：“差别是世上一切事物，在一定条件下都是矛盾，故差别就是矛盾，这就是所谓具体的矛盾。”作为整体的党和作为个体的党员的差异和区别，按照他对于差别的理解，其实也就是矛盾。因此，如何看待党和党员的关系，如何处理好党和党员的关系，如何使党员在纪律上与党达成一致，等等，这些归结起来就是如何处理作为整体的党和作为个体的党员之间的矛盾问题。而要正确处理这一矛盾问题，行之有效的方法当然只有唯物辩证法。

At the Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee, in the political report “On the New Stage,” when discussing the position of the Chinese Communist Party in the national war in the seventh part, Mao Zedong devoted two consecutive sections specifically to Party discipline and Party democracy, which in fact already touched on using dialectical materialism to correctly handle the contradiction between the Party as a whole and the individual Party member. In discussing Party discipline, he pointed out: “In view of Zhang Guotao’s serious violation of discipline, the Party’s discipline must be reaffirmed: (1) the individual is subordinate to the organization; (2) the minority is subordinate to the majority; (3) the lower level is subordinate to the higher level; (4) the entire Party is subordinate to the Central Committee. Whoever violates these disciplines violates the unity of the Party.” In discussing Party democracy, he pointed out: “The Chinese Communist Party, facing a great struggle, requires the entire Party’s leading organs, all Party members and cadres, to give full play to their initiative in order to achieve victory. What is called giving play to initiative must be concretely manifested in the creative ability, sense of responsibility, liveliness of work, daring and ability to raise questions, express opinions, criticize shortcomings, and the supervisory role over leading organs and leading cadres from the standpoint of protecting them. Without these, so-called initiative is empty. And the exertion of this initiative depends on the democratization of inner-Party life. If there is a lack of democratic life within the Party, the goal of giving play to initiative cannot be achieved. The creation of large numbers of capable talents is only possible in democratic life.” What Mao Zedong discussed here regarding Party discipline emphasized that the Party is a centralized and unified whole, and that Party discipline must be used to maintain the Party’s centralization and unity; what he discussed regarding Party democracy emphasized the need to give play to the initiative of all cadres and individual Party members through the democratization of inner-Party life. In his view, the key here lies in properly grasping the relationship between these two aspects: “On the one hand, truly expand democratic life within the Party; on the other hand, do not go so far as to fall into extreme democratization, into the liberal laissez-faire that destroys discipline.” These discussions already applied dialectical materialism, viewing the relationship between the Party as a whole and the individual Party member as a unity of opposites, and provided a correct elucidation of how to handle this contradiction.

在党的六届六中全会上，毛泽东在《论新阶段》政治报告中，在第七部分论述中国共产党在民族战争中的地位时，专门有前后相连的两节分别论党的纪律和党的民主，实际上就已涉及了用唯物辩证法正确处理作为整体的党和作为个体的党员之间的矛盾问题。他在论述党的纪律时指出：“鉴于张国焘严重地破坏纪律的行为，必须重申党的纪律：(一)个人服从组织；(二)少数服从多数；(三)下级服从上级；(四)全党服从中央。谁破坏了这些纪律，谁就破坏了党的统一。”他在论述党的民主时指出：“处在伟大斗争面前的中国共产党，要求整个党的领导机关，全党的党员和干部，高度地发挥其积极性，才能取得胜利。所谓发挥积极性，必须具体地表现在领导机关、干部和党员的创造能力，负责精神，工作的活跃，敢于和善于提出问题、发表意见、批评缺点，以及对于领导机关和领导干部从爱护观点出发的监督作用。没有这些，所谓积极性就是空的。而这些积极性的发挥，有赖于党内生活的民主化。党内缺乏民主生活，发挥积极性的目的就不能达到。大批能干人材的创造，也只有在民主生活中才有可能。”毛泽东在这里所论党的纪律，强调了党是一个集中的统一的整体，必须以党的纪律来保持党的集中和统一；所论党的民主，则强调通过党内生活的民主化，来发挥全体干部和党员的个体的积极性。在他看来，这里的关键在于把握好这两方面的关系：“一方面，确实扩大党内的民主生活；又一方面，不至于走到极端民主化，走到破坏纪律的自由放任主义。”这些论述，已经运用唯物辩证法，将作为整体的党和作为个体的党员之间的关系看作是矛盾的对立统一，并对处理这一矛盾问题作出了正确的阐明。

At the Seventh National Congress of the CPC, when discussing the building of the Chinese Communist Party, Mao Zedong explicitly summarized the relationship between the Party as a whole and the individual Party member as the relationship between Party spirit and individuality, and then elevated it to the height of Marxist philosophy, using dialectical materialism to elucidate it. In his oral political report and concluding remarks at the Seventh Congress, he made special elaborations on the dialectics of Party spirit and individuality. The third part of the oral political report of the Seventh Congress discusses several issues within the Party, and the first issue discussed is “On Individuality and Party Spirit.” The third part of the concluding remarks of the Seventh Congress discusses several ideological and policy issues within the Party, of which the eleventh section is titled “The Problem of Party Spirit and Individuality.” It can be said that elucidating the dialectics of Party spirit and individuality was an important part of Mao Zedong’s exposition on the building of the Chinese Communist Party at the Seventh Congress. These discussions clearly show that his thinking and exploration of this issue had reached maturity at this time.

在党的七大上，毛泽东在论述中国共产党的建设时，明确地将作为整体的党和作为个体的党员之间的关系概括为党性与个性的关系，进而上升到马克思主义哲学的高度，运用唯物辩证法作出阐明。他在七大的口头政治报告和结论中，都对党性与个性的辩证法作了专门阐发。七大的口头政治报告第三部分，论述关于党内的几个问题，而所论第一个问题就是“关于个性与党性”。七大的结论第三部分，论述党内若干思想政策问题，其中第十一节题为《党性与个性问题》。可以说，阐明党性与个性的辩证法，是毛泽东在党的七大上阐述中国共产党的建设问题的重要内容。这些论述清楚表明，他对这个问题的思考和探讨在这时达到了成熟。

What is Party spirit? Mao Zedong pointed out: “Party spirit is the common nature, the universal nature, the nature that every person in the Party possesses. For example, unity in policy, the coalition government, the program of New Democracy, and the programs of various parts, rectification, production, etc., should be unified on these principles, on the basis of Marxist thought; this is common.” This commonality indicates that for the Party to lead the Chinese revolution and achieve the liberation of the Chinese people, it must unify the will and actions of all Party members and implement strict discipline within the Party; Party discipline plays an important role here. He further pointed out that this is precisely a clear difference between Communist Party members and the general masses. He said: “The broad masses do not have a clear, awakened, democratic, independent consciousness, and will not be respected. When it comes to our Party, is there a difference on this point? There is.” He compared the Party to an army and explained the reason for this difference: “An army must have unified discipline, must obey orders: stand at attention, stand at ease, look left, look right, march forward, aim and fire. Otherwise, with the enemy in front, one fires to the east, another fires to the west, and they will be annihilated by the enemy. The Party as an army is the same; without unified discipline, without democratic centralism, without democracy or without centralization, it will not work.” Not only that, he also emphasized that the Party even needs unity and discipline more than an army, pointing out: “The Party as an army has many characteristics compared with other armies of the people. It is an advanced contingent, an organized advanced contingent, more organized, tighter, more unified than other organizations, all striving together for one goal.” This is a consistent idea of Mao Zedong’s. As early as 1937, when handling the Huang Kegong incident, he pointed out: “The Communist Party and the Red Army cannot but enforce stricter discipline on their own Party members and Red Army members than on ordinary civilians.” [9]9 Huang Kegong was a Red Army officer and veteran of the Long March who, in 1937, murdered a female student who rejected his marriage proposal. Mao Zedong approved his execution, arguing that the Party and Red Army must enforce stricter discipline on their own members than on ordinary citizens.

什么是党性?毛泽东指出：“党性是共同的性质、普遍的性质，全党每一个人都有的性质。比如讲政策上的统一，联合政府、新民主主义的纲领以及各部分的纲领、整风、生产等，应在这些原则上，在马克思主义思想的基础上统一起来，这是共同的。”这种共同性表明，党要领导中国革命，要实现中国人民的解放，就必须统一全体党员的意志和行动，在党内实行严格的纪律，党的纪律在这里就要起重要的作用。他进而指出，这正是共产党员与一般群众的一个明显的不同。他说：“广大群众没有清楚的、觉醒的、民主的、独立的意识，是不会被尊敬的。讲到我们党内，这一点是不是有不同?是有不同的。”他把党比喻为一支军队，对于这种不同的理由作了说明：“一个军队，要有统一纪律，要听号令：立正，稍息，向左看，向右看，开步走，瞄准放。不然敌人在前面，一个往东放，一个往西放，是要被敌人消灭的。党这个军队也是一样，没有统一纪律，没有民主集中制，没有民主或者没有集中都不行。”不仅如此，他还强调党甚至比军队更需要有统一性和纪律性，指出：“党这个军队同人民的其他军队比较有许多特点，它是先进的部队，是有组织的先进部队，比较别的组织更有组织性，更加严密，更加统一，共同为着一个目标奋斗。”这一点，是毛泽东一以贯之的思想。早在1937年处理黄克功事件时，他就指出：“共产党与红军，对于自己的党员与红军成员不能不执行比较一般平民更加严格的纪律。”

What is individuality? Mao Zedong believed that if Party spirit is universality, then “individuality is particularity.” The Chinese Communist Party is composed of different individual Party members, and the individuality of Party members should be recognized and valued. He used examples to illustrate that Party members having individuality is an objective reality: “Is every Party member different? Of course they are different. Individuality cannot be forced to be the same; people have various differences such as old, young, male, female, and work also differs in military, political, economic, cultural, Party affairs, etc. In military work, there are differences between officers, political workers, and logistics workers; in Party affairs work, there are differences in work areas such as base areas and occupied areas. People’s level of understanding of Marxism also differs; the same person’s understanding of Marxism in childhood and in old age is also different. In short, there are differences in work, differences in status, differences in gender, differences in age, etc. To obliterate these differences is to prevent comrades from developing their strengths. These cannot all be unified on a single track.” He further extended the objective existence of individuality to the natural world, using the solar system as an example: “The solar system has nine major planets, namely Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and Earth is also one. They each follow their own orbits, moving in a certain order; they were all formed by splitting from the solar nebula, with different sizes and shapes. As for the things on the planets, they are not necessarily all the same. There are no people on the sun, but we have people on Earth; whether there are also people on the other eight major planets cannot be said now; I have not investigated it. In ancient times, there were no people on Earth, no water, no air. Only after there was air and water could there be living things, and only after there were living things could there be people. The stars in the sky often assert their independence; when you look up at night, sometimes you can see a star running away! It also asserts its independence.” Mao Zedong thus concluded: “In a word, Party members have various different individualities; whoever wants to obliterate these various different individualities cannot succeed.”

什么是个性呢?毛泽东认为，如果说党性是普遍性，那么“个性就是特殊性”。中国共产党是由不同的个体党员组成的，应当承认和重视党员的个性。他用举例的方法，说明了党员有其个性是一种客观存在：“每一个党员是不是不相同?当然不相同。个性不能强同，人就有老的、少的、男的、女的各种各样的不同，工作也各有军事、政治、经济、文化、党务等的不同。在军事工作方面又有军官、政治工作人员、后勤工作人员的不同，党务工作方面也有根据地、沦陷区等各种工作地区的不同。在对马克思主义的了解程度上人们也不相同，同一个人在幼年时期和年纪大时对马克思主义的了解也不相同。总之，有工作的不同，地位的不同，性别的不同，年龄的不同等等，抹煞这种不同，就是不让同志们发展长处。这些都不能统一在一条轨道之上。”他又进一步把个性的客观存在扩大到自然界，以太阳系为例说：“太阳系有九大行星，就是金星、木星、水星、火星、土星、天王星、海王星、冥王星，地球也是一个。它们各循其自己的轨道，按着一定的次序走，它们都是从太阳星云分裂形成的，大小样子不同。至于行星上的东西，也不见得都是一样。太阳上没有人，我们地球上就有人，其他八大行星上面是不是也有一个有人，现在不能讲，我没有调查过。从前古时候地球上也没有人，没有水，没有空气，自从有了空气有了水，然后才能有生物，有了生物然后才能有人。天上的星星自己也常闹独立性，你们晚上抬头看，有时能看到有的星跑掉啦!它也闹独立性。”毛泽东由此得出结论说：“总而言之，党员是有各种不同的个性，谁要抹煞各种不同的个性是不行的。”

When individuality is compared with Party spirit, is it therefore unimportant and to be lightly regarded? Mao Zedong believed that individuality cannot be regarded as unimportant and lightly dismissed. He explained this from both theoretical and practical aspects. Theoretically, “to obliterate all differences would in the end result in the abolition of unity; to obliterate particularity would mean there is no unity.” [10]10 This quotation is from Mao’s 1944 speech “On the Question of Individuality and Party Spirit,” delivered during the Yan’an Rectification Movement (1942–1945), a Party-wide campaign to study Marxist texts and correct deviations in work style. That is to say, Party spirit and individuality exist simultaneously as opposites; for instance, in the rectification movement there is Party spirit and also individuality; in production there is Party spirit and also individuality; in military work there is Party spirit and also individuality; in government work there is Party spirit and also individuality; in short, “in any work or matter we undertake, there is both Party spirit and individuality.” This individuality is both opposed to and unified with Party spirit; one cannot speak only of Party spirit and not of individuality. Practically, the Chinese Communist Party is devoted to national liberation, and its very purpose lies in realizing the liberation of individuality for the Chinese people. At the time, some newspapers in the areas under Kuomintang rule accused the Chinese Communist Party of wanting only Party spirit and not individuality. In the rectification movement, this question was also raised by people within the revolutionary ranks. Mao Zedong sharply criticized this claim, emphasizing that the Chinese Communist Party attaches importance to the liberation of individuality. He pointed out: “China is a semi-colonial and semi-feudal country; imperialism and feudal forces cripple individuality, preventing the Chinese people from developing their intelligence and talents; their bodies cannot develop, nor can their spirits develop; both are crippled.” Therefore, realizing the liberation of individuality for the Chinese people is precisely the proper meaning of the Chinese Communist Party’s devotion to national liberation. “The Chinese Communist Party represents the entire people in demanding independence! If China has no independence, then there is no individuality; national liberation is the liberation of individuality. This must be done politically, economically, and culturally.” It is precisely in this way that, through the strenuous struggle of the Chinese Communists, “within our Party, within our liberated areas, the people have relatively full freedom, have independence and individuality.”

个性与党性相比较，是不是就不重要而可以轻看呢?毛泽东认为，不能把个性视为不重要而加以轻看。他从理论和现实两个方面进行了说明。从理论上看，“抹煞各种差别，结果就会取消统一，抹煞特殊性也就没有统一性”。也就是说，党性与个性作为对立面是同时存在着的，如整风中有党性，也有个性；生产中有党性，也有个性；军事工作中有党性，也有个性；政府工作中有党性，也有个性；总之，“任何一项凡是我们要做的工作和事情中都有党性，也有个性”。这种个性是与党性既对立又统一的，不能只讲党性而不讲个性。从现实上看，中国共产党致力民族解放，其目的正在于实现中国人民的个性解放。当时国民党统治区的一些报纸，指责中国共产党只要党性、不要个性。而在整风运动中，也有革命队伍中的人提出这个问题。毛泽东旗帜鲜明地批判了这种说法，强调中国共产党是重视个性解放的。他指出：“中国是半殖民地半封建的国家，帝国主义与封建势力是摧残个性的，使中国人民不能发展他们的聪明才智，他们的身体也不能发展，精神也不能发展，都受到了摧残。”因此，实现中国人民的个性解放，本是中国共产党致力民族解放的应有之义。“中国共产党代表全国人民要求独立!中国如果没有独立就没有个性，民族解放就是解放个性，政治上要这样做，经济上要这样做，文化上也要这样做。”正是这样，经过中国共产党人的努力奋斗，“在我们党内，在我们解放区，人民有了比较充分的自由，有独立性和个性”。

Mao Zedong then offered a specialized exposition on the question of bringing the role of Party members’ individuality into play. He said: “Marx explained this question very clearly in the *Communist Manifesto*. He said: ‘The free development of each is the condition for the free development of all.’ One cannot imagine that each individual cannot develop while society develops; equally, one cannot imagine that our Party has Party spirit while every Party member has no individuality, all being blocks of wood—1.2 million Party members would be 1.2 million blocks of wood. Here I recall two lines of poetry written by Gong Zizhen: [11]11 Gong Zizhen (1792–1841) was a Qing dynasty poet and thinker. The couplet is from his poem “Miscellaneous Poems of the Year Jihai” (1839), expressing a wish for the emergence of unconventional talents. ‘I urge the Lord of Heaven to bestir himself once more / And send down talents of all kinds without sticking to one pattern.’ Within our Party, I would put it this way: ‘I urge Marx and Lenin to bestir themselves once more / And send down talents of all kinds without sticking to one pattern.’ Do not let our Party members become paper-pasted or clay-molded people, all the same—that would be no good. In fact, people come in all kinds; as long as they submit to the Party program, the Party constitution, and Party resolutions, within this great principle, everyone can simply exert their abilities.” He thus reminded the whole Party: bringing the role of Party members’ individuality into play is extremely important for Party building and development; “making this point clear will be beneficial for the Party’s progress and for arousing the initiative of all Party members.” Therefore, at the Seventh National Congress of the CPC, when he discussed the question of the relationship between Party spirit and individuality, he placed greater emphasis on bringing the role of Party members’ individuality into play.

毛泽东由此对发挥党员的个性作用这一问题作了专门阐述。他说：“这个问题，马克思在《共产党宣言》里讲得很清楚，他说：‘每个人的自由发展是一切人的自由发展的条件。’不能设想每个人不能发展，而社会有发展，同样不能设想我们党有党性，而每个党员没有个性，都是木头，一百二十万党员就是一百二十万块木头。这里我记起了龚自珍写的两句诗：‘我劝天公重抖擞，不拘一格降人才。’在我们党内，我想这样讲：‘我劝马列重抖擞，不拘一格降人才。’不要使我们的党员成了纸糊泥塑的人，什么都是一样的，那就不好了。其实人有各种各样的，只要他服从党纲、党章、党的决议，在这个大原则下，大家发挥能力就行了。”他由此提醒全党：发挥党员的个性作用，对于党的建设和发展十分重要；“讲清楚这一点，对于党的进步，对于全体党员积极性的发挥是会有好处的”。因此，他在党的七大上，在论述党性与个性的关系问题时，更侧重讲发挥党员的个性作用。

While attaching importance to bringing the role of Party members’ individuality into play, Mao Zedong further pondered and explored a question: Since the Chinese Communist Party must both stress discipline and Party spirit and also value individuality and bring it into play, how can individuality and Party spirit be made consistent in practical work? He believed that the key here lies in properly grasping the exercise of Party members’ individual roles, enabling them to harmonize and align with Party spirit and the Party’s cause. He therefore conducted a concrete analysis of how Party members’ individuality functions, pointing out that Party members actually have two different kinds of individual roles: one is “creative individuality,” and the other is “destructive individuality.” Regarding “creative individuality,” he defined it as follows: “For example, model workers, top marksmen, inventors, cadres capable of independent work—those who have courage not only in struggle outside the Party but also in struggle inside the Party, who have little blindness, do not echo others mechanically, and raise their hands only after clarifying the situation—this is creative individuality.” This kind of “creative individuality” can play a role in promoting and advancing the Party’s cause; to borrow today’s language, it provides “positive energy.” Therefore, “it is completely consistent and fully unified with Party spirit.” Regarding “destructive individuality,” he defined it as follows: this “is destructive, individualistic, puts personal interests first, and engages in so-called ‘doing something unconventional or unorthodox’.” This so-called doing something unconventional or unorthodox is a destructive kind of unconventionality. This kind of “destructive individuality” cannot play a role in promoting and advancing the Party’s cause; to borrow today’s language, it provides “negative energy.” Hence, “it oversteps the orbit of the proletariat, is inconsistent with Party spirit, is the petty-bourgeois line, policy, and route, and is erroneous.” Mao Zedong believed that among the individualities exerted by Party members, only this “creative individuality” can make individuality and Party spirit harmonize and align, thereby creating a unified Party spirit. Therefore, the Party should endorse “creative individuality” and oppose “destructive individuality”; only in this way can the relationship between Party spirit and individuality be properly handled.

在重视发挥党员的个性作用的同时，毛泽东还进一步思考和探讨了一个问题：中国共产党既要讲纪律、讲党性，又要重视个性、发挥个性，那么在现实工作中如何才能使个性与党性一致起来呢?他认为，这里的关键在于把握好党员个性作用的发挥，使之能与党性、与党的事业谐调一致起来。他为此对党员的个性如何发挥作用进行了具体分析，指出党员实有两种不相同的个性作用，一种是“创造性的个性”,另一种是“破坏性的个性”。对于“创造性的个性”,他作出界定说：“比如模范工作者、特等射击手、发明家、能独立工作的干部，不但党外斗争有勇气，党内斗争也有勇气，盲目性少，不随声附和，搞清楚情况再举手，这就是创造性的个性”。这种“创造性的个性”,能对党的事业起推动和促进作用，借用今天的话说就是提供了“正能量”,因此“它同党性是完全一致的，完全统一的”。对于“破坏性的个性”,他作出界定说：这“是带破坏性的、个人主义的，把个人利益放在第一位，搞所谓标新立异”。这种所谓的标新立异，是一种破坏性的标新立异。这种“破坏性的个性”,不能对党的事业起推动和促进作用，借用今天的话说就是提供了“负能量”,因而“它越出了无产阶级轨道，同党性不一致，是小资产阶级的方针、路线和政策，是错误的”。毛泽东认为，在党员所发挥的个性中，只有这种“创造性的个性”,才能使个性与党性谐调一致起来，从而造成统一的党性。因此，党要赞成“创造性的个性”,反对“破坏性的个性”,这样才能处理好党性与个性的关系。

Mao Zedong believed that this relationship between Party spirit and individuality, if elevated to the perspective of dialectical materialism, is precisely the relationship between universality and particularity that he had elucidated in *On Contradiction*. He said: “When we speak of individuality and Party spirit, Party spirit is universality, and individuality is particularity. There is no universality that is not built on the basis of particularity. Without particularity, where would universality come from? Without the individuality of Party members, where would Party spirit come from?” Regarding the question of the relationship between universality and particularity as discussed in dialectical materialism, and the contradictory relationship between commonality and individuality, and between the absolute and the relative that it involves, Mao Zedong had already provided a profound elucidation in *On Contradiction*, pointing out: “The relationship between the universality and the particularity of contradiction is the relationship between the commonality and individuality of contradiction. Their commonality is that contradiction exists in all processes and runs through all processes from beginning to end; contradiction is motion, is things, is processes, and is also thought. To deny the contradiction of things is to deny everything. This is a universal truth, applicable to all times and all countries, without exception. Therefore, it is commonality, is absoluteness. However, this commonality is contained in all individuality; without individuality there is no commonality. If all individuality were removed, what commonality would remain? Because each contradiction is particular, individuality is constituted. All individuality exists conditionally and temporarily, and is therefore relative.” Mao Zedong placed great importance on this theory of dialectical materialism, emphasizing: “This truth concerning commonality and individuality, the absolute and the relative, is the essence of the problem of the contradiction of things; to fail to understand it is to abandon dialectics.” In the decision *On Methods of Leadership* that he wrote for the Central Committee of the CPC, he advocated transforming this theory of dialectical materialism into the method of “combining the general with the particular,” [12]12 This refers to the method of leadership, as articulated in Mao’s 1943 decision *On Methods of Leadership*, whereby general calls are combined with concrete guidance from selected units to avoid both commandism and tailism. believing this to be a method that Communists must adopt in any work they undertake. It was precisely in this way that, at the Seventh National Congress of the CPC, he used dialectical materialism, through the contradictory relationship between universality and particularity, commonality and individuality, to provide a thorough and penetrating elucidation of the dialectics of Party spirit and individuality.

毛泽东认为，这种党性与个性的关系，如若上升到唯物辩证法看，也就是他在《矛盾论》中阐明过的普遍性与特殊性的关系。他说：“讲到个性与党性，党性就是普遍性，个性就是特殊性。没有一种普遍性不是建筑在特殊性的基础上的。没有特殊性哪里有普遍性?没有党员的个性，哪里有党性?”对于唯物辩证法所讲的普遍性与特殊性的关系问题，以及由此而涉及的共性与个性、绝对与相对的矛盾关系，毛泽东在《矛盾论》中已经作了深刻阐明，指出：“矛盾的普遍性和矛盾的特殊性的关系，就是矛盾的共性和个性的关系。其共性是矛盾存在于一切过程中，并贯串于一切过程的始终，矛盾即是运动，即是事物，即是过程，也即是思想。否认事物的矛盾就是否认了一切。这是共通的道理，古今中外，概莫能外。所以它是共性，是绝对性。然而这种共性，即包含于一切个性之中，无个性即无共性。假如除去一切个性，还有什么共性呢?因为矛盾的各各特殊，所以造成了个性。一切个性都是有条件地暂时地存在的，所以是相对的。”对于这一唯物辩证法理论，毛泽东十分看重，强调说：“这一共性个性、绝对相对的道理，是关于事物矛盾的问题的精髓，不懂得它，就等于抛弃了辩证法。”在他为中共中央所写的《关于领导方法的若干问题》决定中，主张把这一唯物辩证法理论转化为“一般和个别相结合”的方法，认为这是共产党人进行何项工作都必须采用的。正是这样，他在党的七大上运用唯物辩证法，通过普遍性与特殊性、共性与个性的矛盾关系，对党性与个性的辩证法作出了深入透彻的阐明。

III. Emphasizing the Principle of Consciousness in the Discipline of the Chinese Communist Party

三、强调中国共产党纪律的自觉原则

Connected with the dialectics of Party spirit and individuality—or, rather, as a deeper understanding and grasp of the dialectics of Party spirit and individuality—Mao Zedong further distilled from the linkage between Party spirit and individuality the principle of consciousness in the discipline of the Chinese Communist Party. He pointed out that Party discipline is established on the basis of the Chinese Communists’ conscious dedication to revolution; it is not a one-sided commandism, but first and foremost a conscious discipline. He believed that only in this way could the relationship between Party spirit and individuality be fundamentally handled, enabling Party discipline to gain universal recognition from the broad masses of Party members and to be resolutely and effectively observed by all. This emphasis on the principle of consciousness constitutes the deeper content of Mao Zedong’s philosophical reflections on the discipline question of the Chinese Communist Party.

同党性与个性的辩证法相联系，或者说是对党性与个性的辩证法作出更深入的理解和把握，毛泽东又进一步从党性与个性的关联中提炼出中国共产党纪律的自觉原则，指出党的纪律是建立在中国共产党人自觉的为革命的基础之上的，不是片面的命令主义，而首先是一种自觉的纪律，认为只有这样才能从根本上处理好党性与个性的关系，使党的纪律获得广大党员的普遍认同，得到坚决有效的共同遵守。这种对自觉原则的强调，构成了毛泽东对中国共产党纪律问题所作哲学思考的更深层内容。

The discipline of the Chinese Communist Party, as a universal requirement, is unquestionably a kind of compulsory norm and constraint, demanding that every Party member, regardless of their individual character, must observe and implement it. Mao Zedong endorsed “creative individuality” and criticized “destructive individuality,” that is, he opposed individuality that undermines Party spirit and fails to observe and implement Party discipline. It is in this sense that the discipline of the Chinese Communist Party must be iron discipline. In September 1941, at an enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Mao said: “The line is the ‘kingly way,’ and discipline is the ‘hegemonic way’; both are indispensable.” [13]13 “Kingly way” (王道, *wangdao*) and “hegemonic way” (霸道, *badao*) are traditional Chinese political concepts: the former refers to rule by moral example and benevolent governance, the latter to rule by coercive force and legal sanctions. Mao uses them metaphorically to contrast the guiding role of the Party line with the binding force of discipline. The term “hegemonic way” used here, borrowed from the terminology of traditional Chinese culture, highlights the compulsory nature of Party discipline, vividly emphasizing that Party discipline is iron discipline, which must be resolutely observed, strictly implemented, and never violated. However, in Mao’s view, emphasizing that Party discipline must be iron discipline does not mean that Party discipline is merely compulsory or commandist in nature. Within Party discipline, besides the compulsory aspect, there is also a voluntary aspect; one cannot view and understand Party discipline through a one-sided commandist lens. He termed the voluntary nature of Party discipline the “principle of voluntariness,” and called “creative individuality” “voluntary individuality,” thereby highlighting this voluntariness and the principle of voluntariness. In his view, this voluntariness and this principle of voluntariness within Party discipline are more important and more precious than the compulsory aspect of Party discipline; they can be said to be a fundamental and distinctive characteristic of the discipline of the Chinese Communist Party.

中国共产党的纪律，作为一种具有普遍性的要求，毫无疑问是一种带有强制性的规范和约束，要求每一个党员不论自己的个性如何都必须遵守和执行。毛泽东赞成“创造性的个性”,批评“破坏性的个性”,也就是反对那种破坏党性、不遵守和执行党的纪律的个性。正是在这个意义上，中国共产党的纪律必须是铁的纪律。1941年9月，毛泽东在中共中央政治局扩大会议上说：“路线是‘王道’,纪律是‘霸道’,这两者都不可少。”这里所说的“霸道”,借用中国传统文化的用语，对党的纪律的强制性作了凸显，形象地强调党的纪律是铁的纪律，必须坚决遵守、严格执行、不可违背。但是，在毛泽东看来，强调党的纪律必须是铁的纪律，并不是意味着党的纪律就只是强制性的、命令主义式的。在党的纪律中，除了强制性的一面，还有自觉性的一面，不能以片面的命令主义来看待和理解党的纪律。他把党的纪律的自觉性称之为“自觉原则”,把“创造性的个性”称之为“自觉的个性”,对这种自觉性、自觉原则加以凸显。在他看来，党的纪律的这种自觉性、这种自觉原则，同党的纪律的强制性相比，对于党的纪律来说更为重要、更可宝贵，可以说是中国共产党的纪律的一个根本性的显著特征。

The so-called principle of voluntariness, in its philosophical sense, refers to a person’s self-discovery of the role of the subject and the voluntary choice of one’s own behavior based on certain values; that is, as an individual subject, one voluntarily pursues and practices certain values, thereby voluntarily choosing one’s own actions; rather than passively adapting and choosing one’s actions under the norms and requirements of certain values. As Confucius’s words recorded in the *Analects* (Yan Yuan) put it: “The practice of benevolence depends on oneself; does it depend on others?” [14]14 *Analects* 12:1. The passage is a core Confucian teaching on moral self-cultivation, emphasizing that ethical action must arise from inner volition, not external compulsion. What Confucius meant by “the practice of benevolence” refers to pursuing and practicing Confucian values; what he meant by “depends on oneself” is that the individual subject, as a scholar-official, becomes conscious of the significance of Confucian values and thereby voluntarily chooses his own actions to pursue and practice these values—this is what he approved of. In other words, he did not approve of the individual subject, as a scholar-official, failing to become conscious of the significance of Confucian values and merely passively adapting and choosing his actions.

所谓自觉原则，就其哲学含义而言，是指人依据一定的价值观对主体作用的自我发现和对主体行为的自觉选择，即作为个体主体的人自愿地追求和践行一定的价值观，由此自觉地选择自己的行为；而不是在某种价值观的规范和要求下，被动地去作适应而选择自己的行为。用《论语·颜渊》中所载孔子的话说，这就是“为仁由己，而由人乎哉”。孔子所说的“为仁”,是指追求和践行儒家的价值观；所说的“由己”,即作为个体主体的士，自觉到儒家价值观的意义，由此自愿地选择自己的行为来追求和践行这种价值观，这是他所赞成的。换言之，他不赞成作为个体主体的士，不能自觉到儒家价值观的意义，而仅仅被动地去作适应而选择自己的行为。

Mao Zedong placed great importance on this principle of voluntariness, but this importance derived primarily from Marxist values and from the great revolutionary goal of the Chinese Communists to liberate the people and serve the people. He believed that the reason the Chinese Communists and the people’s army led by the Party could struggle together for a long time lay precisely in their conscious and voluntary pursuit and practice of this revolutionary goal. He said: “Our Communist Party and the Eighth Route and New Fourth Armies led by our Party are revolutionary contingents. Our contingent is entirely for the liberation of the people and works wholly in the interests of the people. … We are all from all corners of the country, and have come together for a common revolutionary goal.” [15]15 Mao Zedong, “Serve the People” (1944), a short essay commemorating a fallen soldier that became one of the most widely recited texts in the PRC, encapsulating the Party’s stated purpose. In his view, attracting more of the masses to join the revolutionary cause also required following the principle of voluntariness. He admonished Party cadres: “Whenever work requires the participation of the masses, without the consciousness and voluntariness of the masses, it will end in mere formality and failure.” [16]16 Mao Zedong, “The United Front in Cultural Work” (1944), a speech on the need to align Party work with the readiness of the masses. On the issue of the Chinese Communist Party’s discipline, he likewise strongly advocated the principle of voluntariness, emphasizing that Party members, on the basis of identifying with the Party’s program, line, and constitution, should voluntarily observe Party discipline, strive for the Party’s cause, and even sacrifice their own lives.

毛泽东很重视这种自觉原则，只是这种重视主要是来自马克思主义价值观，来自中国共产党人的解放人民、为人民服务这个伟大革命目标。他认为，中国共产党人和党领导的人民军队，之所以能长期共同奋斗，正在于自觉而自愿地追求和践行这个革命目标。他说：“我们的共产党和共产党所领导的八路军、新四军，是革命的队伍。我们这个队伍完全是为着解放人民的，是彻底地为人民的利益工作的。……我们都是来自五湖四海，为了一个共同的革命目标，走到一起来了。”在他看来，吸引更多的人民群众投身到革命事业中来，也必须遵循自觉原则。他告诫党的干部们：“凡是需要群众参加的工作，如果没有群众的自觉和自愿，就会流于徒有形式而失败。”在中国共产党的纪律问题上，他同样力主自觉原则，强调共产党员在认同党的纲领、路线和章程的基础上，志愿遵守党的纪律，为党的事业奋斗，甚至牺牲自己的生命。

The principle of voluntariness in Communist Party discipline was first revealed and elucidated by Lenin. Lenin keenly discovered after the victory of the October Revolution in Russia that the Bolshevik Party and the masses led by the Party needed a new kind of discipline to build socialism, a discipline that embodied the consciousness and voluntariness of the Communists and the masses led by the Party in their common struggle. He called this new discipline “free and conscious discipline.” In 1919, in his article “A Great Beginning,” Lenin pointed out that, in complete contrast to the coercive discipline imposed by serf-based and capitalist labor organizations, “the communist organization of social labor—the first step toward which is socialism—rests, and will rest more and more as it develops, on the free and conscious discipline of the working people themselves who have thrown off the yoke of the landowners and capitalists.” [17]17 V. I. Lenin, “A Great Beginning” (1919), a pamphlet praising communist *subbotniks* (voluntary unpaid labor) as the embryo of a new, socialist form of labor discipline. A year later, in Chapter 2 of his book *“Left-Wing” Communism: An Infantile Disorder*, when discussing the necessity for the Party to implement extremely strict iron discipline, Lenin raised a fundamental question about Party discipline: “What is the discipline of the revolutionary party of the proletariat maintained by? What is it tested by? What is it reinforced by?” His answer to this question was: “First, by the class consciousness of the proletarian vanguard and its devotion to the revolution, by its staunchness, self-sacrifice, and heroism. Second, by its ability to link up, maintain the closest contact, and, to a certain extent, if you like, merge with the broadest masses of working people—primarily with the proletariat, but also with the non-proletarian masses of working people. Third, by the correctness of the political leadership exercised by this vanguard, by the correctness of its political strategy and tactics, provided the broadest masses have become convinced of this correctness through their own experience. Without these conditions, discipline cannot be established in a revolutionary party that is really capable of being the party of the advanced class, whose mission is to overthrow the bourgeoisie and transform the whole of society.” [18]18 V. I. Lenin, *“Left-Wing” Communism: An Infantile Disorder* (1920), a polemic against ultra-leftist deviations in the international communist movement, arguing for the necessity of strict discipline combined with mass work and correct strategy. What is referred to here as “the class consciousness of the proletarian vanguard and its devotion to the revolution,” as well as “its staunchness, self-sacrifice, and heroism,” speaks precisely to the voluntary nature of Communist Party discipline. In Lenin’s view, the reason the Communist Party can implement iron discipline lies in the fact that Party discipline is built on this foundation of voluntariness; one cannot discuss Party discipline apart from this voluntariness.

共产党纪律的自觉原则，是列宁首先揭示出来并加以阐明的。列宁在俄国十月革命胜利后敏锐地发现，布尔什维克党及党所领导的人民群众需要一种新的纪律才能建设社会主义，这种纪律体现了共产党人和党领导的人民群众共同奋斗的自觉性和自愿性，他将这种新的纪律称为“自由的自觉的纪律”。1919年，列宁在《伟大的创举》一文中指出，与农奴制的和资本主义的劳动组织所实行的强迫性纪律全然不同，“共产主义的社会劳动组织——其第一步为社会主义——则靠推翻了地主资本家压迫的劳动群众本身自由的自觉的纪律来维持，而且愈向前发展就愈要靠这种纪律来维持”。一年以后，列宁在《共产主义运动中的“左派”幼稚病》一书第二章中，在谈到党必须实行极严格的铁的纪律时，提出了一个关于党的纪律的根本性问题：“无产阶级革命政党的纪律是靠什么来维持的?是靠什么来检验的?是靠什么来加强的?”他对这个问题的回答是：“第一，是靠无产阶级先锋队的觉悟和它对革命的忠诚，是靠它的坚韧不拔、自我牺牲和英雄气概。第二，是靠它善于同最广大的劳动群众，首先是同无产阶级劳动群众，但同样也同非无产阶级劳动群众联系、接近，甚至可以说在某种程度上同他们打成一片。第三，是靠这个先锋队所实行的政治领导正确，靠它的政治战略和策略正确，而最广大的群众根据切身经验也确信其正确。一个革命政党，要真正能够成为必将推翻资产阶级并改造整个社会的先进阶级的政党，没有上述条件，就不可能建立起纪律。”这里所说的“无产阶级先锋队的觉悟和它对革命的忠诚”,以及“它的坚韧不拔、自我牺牲和英雄气概”,就讲的是共产党纪律的自觉性。在列宁看来，共产党之所以能实行铁的纪律，在于党的纪律是建立在这种自觉性基础上的；不能离开这种自觉性，来谈党的纪律。

Mao Zedong attached great importance to these ideas of Lenin, earnestly absorbed them, and repeatedly emphasized them. As noted earlier, Mao repeatedly stated that Party cadres should carefully study Lenin’s *“Left-Wing” Communism: An Infantile Disorder*, especially its second chapter, stressing the importance of Lenin’s discussion of the question of Communist Party discipline. Just as Lenin called the discipline of the Bolshevik Party “a discipline of free and conscious choice” [19]19 V. I. Lenin, *“Left-Wing” Communism: An Infantile Disorder*, in *Collected Works*, vol. 31 (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1966), p. 44. The phrase “discipline of free and conscious choice” is a translation of Lenin’s original., Mao, when discussing the discipline of the Chinese Communist Party and the people’s army under its leadership, explicitly put forward the principle of conscious discipline. In October 1937, in a conversation with the British journalist James Bertram, Mao proposed that the discipline of China’s anti-Japanese armies should be “a discipline built on the principle of conscious choice, a discipline that commits no trespass on the people” [20]20 Mao Zedong, “Interview with James Bertram,” in *Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung*, vol. 2 (Peking: Foreign Languages Press, 1965), p. 53., and further pointed out that the Eighth Route Army led by the Chinese Communist Party was precisely a model for implementing this discipline, which meant carrying out the principle of unity between officers and men, “eliminating feudalism in the army, abolishing the system of beating and cursing, establishing conscious discipline, and sharing hardships and joys.” At the Seventh National Congress of the Party, Mao further stated: “The Party is a union of the finest elements among the people; everyone consciously and willingly accepts restraint, that is, recognizes the Party’s program and constitution, obeys the Party’s resolutions, and is willing to make self-sacrifice.” He also said: “Unity of action, unity of opinion, and collectivism—this is Party spirit. We must concentrate many conscious individualities, adopt unified action and unified opinion on certain questions and certain matters, and have a unified will—this is what our Party spirit demands.” The Constitution of the Chinese Communist Party adopted at the Seventh National Congress enshrined this principle of conscious choice, stating: “The Chinese Communist Party is organized on the principle of democratic centralism and is a unified fighting organization bound together by a discipline that is conscious and to be observed by all Party members. The strength of the Chinese Communist Party lies in its firm unity, unity of will, and unity of action. Within the Party, no conduct that departs from the Party’s program and constitution, no conduct that undermines Party discipline, acts of independence from the Party, factional activities, or double-dealing behavior are permitted.” This emphasizes that Party members’ submission to discipline follows the principle of conscious choice and is built on the basis of consciousness and voluntariness.

对于列宁的这些思想，毛泽东高度重视、认真吸取、反复强调。前文已经指出，毛泽东曾多次谈到党的干部要认真研读《共产主义运动中的“左派”幼稚病》一书，特别是看重这部书的第二章，强调要重视列宁在书中关于共产党纪律问题的论述。同列宁把布尔什维克党的纪律称为“自由的自觉的纪律”一样，毛泽东在谈到中国共产党及党领导的人民军队的纪律时，明确地提出了纪律的自觉原则。1937年10月，毛泽东在同英国记者贝特兰的谈话中提出，中国抗日军队的纪律应当是“建设在自觉原则上的秋毫无犯的纪律”,并进而指出中国共产党领导的八路军正是实行这一纪律的典范，这就是贯彻官兵一致的原则，“在军队中肃清封建主义，废除打骂制度，建立自觉纪律，实行同甘共苦的生活”。在党的七大上，毛泽东进一步指出：“党是人民中优秀分子的结合，大家是自觉地愿意受约束，就是承认党纲、党章，服从党的决议案，愿意自我牺牲。”又指出：“一致的行动，一致的意见，集体主义，就是党性。我们要使许多自觉的个性集中起来，对一定的问题、一定的事情采取一致的行动、一致的意见，有统一的意志，这是我们的党性所要求的。”党的七大通过的《中国共产党党章》把这种自觉原则载入了党章，指出：“中国共产党是按民主的集中制组织起来的，是以自觉的、一切党员都要履行的纪律联结起来的统一的战斗组织。中国共产党的力量，在于自己的坚强团结，意志统一，行动一致。在党内不容许有离开党的纲领和党章的行为，不能容许有破坏党纪、向党闹独立性、小组织活动及阳奉阴违的两面行为。”这就是强调，共产党员对纪律的服从，遵循的是自觉原则，是建立在自觉和自愿的基础上的。

Regarding this conscious discipline, Mao once gave a very famous example to illustrate it. At the Second Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee of the Party, he said: “Jinzhou is a place that produces apples. During the Liaoxi Campaign, it was autumn; there were many apples in the homes of the common people, and not a single one of our soldiers took any. I was very moved when I read that report. On this question, the soldiers consciously believed: not eating is very noble, while eating is very base, because these are the people’s apples. Our discipline is built on this consciousness. This is the result of our Party’s leadership and education. People must have a certain spirit; the revolutionary spirit of the proletariat comes from this.” [21]21 Mao Zedong, “Speech at the Second Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China” (November 15, 1956), in *Mao Zedong’s Selected Works*, vol. 5 (Beijing: People’s Publishing House, 1977), p. 329. The Liaoxi Campaign was a major military operation during the Chinese Civil War (1945–1949), part of the Liaoshen Campaign (September–November 1948), in which the People’s Liberation Army captured the city of Jinzhou in Liaoning province. This example is vivid and concrete, concretely explaining what is meant by the “discipline built on the principle of conscious choice, a discipline that commits no trespass on the people” of the Chinese Communist Party and the people’s army, and clearly revealing the source of the conscious discipline of the Chinese Communist Party and the people’s army.

对于这种自觉的纪律，毛泽东曾举过一个很有名的例子来予以说明。他在党的八届二中全会上说：“锦州那个地方出苹果，辽西战役的时候，正是秋天，老百姓家里很多苹果，我们战士一个都不去拿。我看了那个消息很感动。在这个问题上，战士们自觉地认为：不吃是很高尚的，而吃了是很卑鄙的，因为这是人民的苹果。我们的纪律就建筑在这个自觉性上边。这是我们党的领导和教育的结果。人是要有一点精神的，无产阶级的革命精神就是由这里头出来的。”这个例子很生动、很具体，实实在在地阐明了什么是中国共产党和人民军队的“建设在自觉原则上的秋毫无犯的纪律”,清清楚楚地揭示了中国共产党和人民军队的纪律自觉性是由何而来的。

In November 1967, when discussing the Ninth National Congress of the Party and the question of Party rectification, Mao once again emphasized that Party discipline is conscious discipline. He said: “Organizational discipline is still necessary, but what we talk about is conscious discipline. … Organizational discipline requires conditions: first, this discipline is conscious; second, it is linked to the masses; third, it is under the leadership of a correct political line. Organizational discipline is conditional and relative; unconditional discipline won’t do. The discipline of the People’s Liberation Army is the best. When Jinzhou was taken, so many apples were untouched; this discipline was built on the foundation of conscious dedication to the revolution.” [22]22 Mao Zedong, “Talk on the Question of the Ninth National Congress and Party Rectification” (November 1967), in *Mao Zedong’s Manuscripts Since the Founding of the People’s Republic of China*, vol. 12 (Beijing: Central Party Literature Press, 1998), p. 432. The three conditions for Party discipline that Mao spoke of here are precisely the three conditions for establishing discipline in a communist party that Lenin discussed in the second chapter of *“Left-Wing” Communism: An Infantile Disorder*; Mao merely made Lenin’s words more accessible and concise, emphasizing them once again to Chinese Communists in Chinese discourse. These ideas were consistent throughout Mao’s thinking. His statement that “the line is the ‘kingly way,’ and discipline is the ‘hegemonic way’; both are indispensable” [23]23 Mao Zedong, “Speech at the Fourth Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China” (February 10, 1954), in *Mao Zedong’s Selected Works*, vol. 5, p. 129. The phrase “kingly way” (王道, *wangdao*) and “hegemonic way” (霸道, *badao*) are classical Chinese political concepts: the former refers to rule by virtue and moral example, the latter to rule by force and strict law.—emphasizing the intrinsic connection between the Party’s line and the Party’s discipline—has its rationale precisely here. In November 1957, when meeting with leaders of the Indian Communist Party in the Soviet Union, he also said, “Lenin said that iron discipline is built on a correct political line.” And the example of the people’s army not taking a single apple from the people during the battle to capture Jinzhou was always an exemplar of the principle of conscious choice that Mao could not forget, and he cited it again when emphasizing Party discipline building. This organically combined Lenin’s ideas with the practice of the Chinese revolution, elucidating the principle of conscious discipline of the Chinese Communist Party from the integration of theory and practice.

1967年11月，毛泽东在谈党的九大和整党问题时，又再次强调了党的纪律是自觉的纪律。他说：“组织纪律性还要有，但我们讲的是自觉的纪律。……组织纪律性要有条件：第一，这个纪律是自觉的；第二，是联系群众的；第三，是在正确的政治路线领导之下的。组织纪律是有条件的、相对的，无条件的不行。人民解放军的纪律最好。打开锦州的时候，那么多苹果一个没动，这种纪律就是建立在自觉的为革命的基础之上的。”毛泽东在这里所说的党的纪律的三个条件，就是列宁在《共产主义运动中的“左派”幼稚病》第二章中所说的共产党建立纪律的三个条件，只是他把列宁的话作了更通俗易懂的简明概括，用中国话语再次向中国共产党人作了强调。这些思想在毛泽东那里是一以贯之的。他说的“路线是‘王道’,纪律是‘霸道’,这两者都不可少”,强调党的路线与党的纪律的内在关联，其理由也就在这里。1957年11月，他在苏联与印度共产党领导人会见时，还谈到“列宁说，铁的纪律是建立在正确的政治路线上的”。而人民军队在攻克锦州战斗中不拿群众一个苹果的例子，则始终是毛泽东不能忘怀的自觉原则的典范，再次在强调党的纪律建设时所列举。这就把列宁的思想与中国革命的实践有机地结合起来，从理论与实际的结合上阐明了中国共产党纪律的自觉原则。

It was precisely in this way that Mao sought to strengthen the discipline building of the Chinese Communist Party in accordance with this principle of conscious choice, establishing Party discipline on the foundation of Chinese Communists’ conscious dedication to the revolution, thereby making it an iron discipline in the true sense. From this, after the founding of New China, he put forward a major goal for Party building: “To create a political situation in which there is both centralism and democracy, both discipline and freedom, both unity of will and personal ease of mind and liveliness, so as to benefit the socialist revolution and socialist construction, make it easier to overcome difficulties, more quickly build our modern industry and modern agriculture, and make the Party and state more consolidated and better able to withstand risks.” [24]24 Mao Zedong, “Speech at the Enlarged Meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China” (January 28, 1957), in *Mao Zedong’s Selected Works*, vol. 5, p. 456. The basis for this major goal, from the perspective of Marxist philosophy, is precisely Mao’s dialectics of Party spirit and individuality, and the principle of conscious discipline of the Chinese Communist Party that he elucidated. Therefore, the principle of conscious discipline is extremely important for the discipline building of the Chinese Communist Party.

正是这样，毛泽东力求按照这种自觉原则来加强中国共产党的纪律建设，把党的纪律建立在中国共产党人自觉地为革命的基础之上，而使之成为真正意义上的铁的纪律。他由此在新中国成立后提出了党的建设的一个大目标：“造成一个又有集中又有民主，又有纪律又有自由，又有统一意志、又有个人心情舒畅、生动活泼，那样一种政治局面，以利于社会主义革命和社会主义建设，较易于克服困难，较快地建设我国的现代工业和现代农业，党和国家较为巩固，较为能够经受风险。”这个大目标的根据，从马克思主义哲学上看，正是毛泽东所阐明的党性与个性的辩证法，所强调的中国共产党纪律的自觉原则。因此，纪律的自觉原则之于中国共产党的纪律建设是极为重要的。

IV. The Significance of Mao Zedong’s Philosophical Reflections on the Question of Chinese Communist Party Discipline

四、毛泽东关于中国共产党纪律问题哲学思考的意义

In 1949, when the Chinese revolution was about to achieve its great victory, Mao, in his article “On the People’s Democratic Dictatorship,” summarized the historical experience of the Chinese Communist Party’s 28 years of bloody struggle that led to revolutionary success, pointing out: “A Party with discipline, armed with the theory of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin, adopting the method of self-criticism, and linked with the masses of the people. An army led by such a Party. A united front of all revolutionary classes and all revolutionary groups led by such a Party. These three are our main weapons for defeating the enemy. These are what distinguish us from our predecessors. Relying on these three, we have achieved basic victory.” [25]25 Mao Zedong, “On the People’s Democratic Dictatorship,” in *Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung*, vol. 4 (Peking: Foreign Languages Press, 1961), p. 422. In his view, Party leadership was the most important among the three magic weapons for the victory of the Chinese revolution, and the first characteristic that a Party as a proletarian revolutionary party should possess was “having discipline.” This is the historical experience Mao summarized and generalized from the long-term practice of Party building and from the long-term practice of the Chinese revolution.

1949年，当中国革命即将迎来伟大胜利的时候，毛泽东在《论人民民主专政》一文中，对中国共产党经历28年浴血奋斗得以革命成功的历史经验进行了总结，指出：“一个有纪律的，有马克思列宁主义的理论武装的，采取自我批评方法的，联系人民群众的党。一个由这样的党领导的军队。一个由这样的党领导的各革命阶级各革命派别的统一战线。这三件是我们战胜敌人的主要武器。这些都是我们区别于前人的。依靠这三件，使我们取得了基本的胜利。”在他看来，党的领导在中国革命胜利三件法宝中是最为重要的，而党作为无产阶级革命政党所应具备的第一个特征就是“有纪律”。这是毛泽东从党的建设长期实践中、从中国革命长期实践中所总结和概括的历史经验。

Mao said that the Chinese Communist Party is a Party “with discipline,” not only because the Chinese Communist Party, from its very founding, drew a clear line with anarchism, formed an iron discipline in the long-term revolutionary struggle, and was a proletarian revolutionary party that emphasized discipline building, stressed disciplinary norms, and strictly enforced discipline, but also because, from the time he participated in the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, he began to use Marxist philosophy to conduct profound philosophical reflections on the question of Party discipline, so that Party discipline was not only embodied in concrete and feasible rules and regulations but also acquired a solid Marxist philosophical foundation, becoming norms and requirements with a Marxist theoretical basis. The reason why the discipline of the Chinese Communist Party could become an iron discipline, and why it could gain universal recognition and common observance from the vast number of Party members, is inseparable from the fact that Party discipline possesses this philosophical foundation.

毛泽东说中国共产党是一个“有纪律”的党，不仅在于中国共产党从创建之初即与无政府主义划清了界限，在长期革命斗争中形成了铁的纪律，是一个重视纪律建设、强调纪律规范、严格纪律执行的无产阶级革命党，而且在于他自参与中国共产党的创建时起，就开始运用马克思主义哲学对党的纪律问题进行深刻的哲学思考，使党的纪律不只体现为具体可行的规矩条文，而且具有了坚实的马克思主义哲学基础，成为有着马克思主义理论根据的规范和要求。中国共产党的纪律之所以能成为铁的纪律，之所以能获得广大党员的普遍认同和共同遵守，是与党的纪律具有这种哲学基础分不开的。

Regarding the relationship between Marxist philosophy and Party building, Mao Zedong once explained it by starting from the Marxist general view. He said: “Marxism-Leninism should contain three parts: first, the philosophy of Marxism-Leninism, which is the theoretical foundation; second, the economics of Marxism-Leninism, which is the doctrine that uses the Marxist-Leninist viewpoint to examine economic phenomena; third, the revolutionary theory of Marxism-Leninism, such as doctrines on class struggle, political parties, the dictatorship of the proletariat, and so on. These three parts cannot be separated, but should be regarded as three organically linked components of Marxism-Leninism.” [26] From this perspective, the problem of Party discipline, as a key link in Party building, is an important element of Marxist political party theory, and of course must take Marxist philosophy as its foundation. Therefore, Mao Zedong particularly pointed out: “The world outlook is dialectical materialism; this is the theoretical foundation of the Communist Party.” [27] It is precisely in this way that he applied Marxist philosophy to profound philosophical reflections on the problem of Party discipline, thereby, while endowing Party discipline with a solid Marxist philosophical foundation, also further integrating Marxist philosophy with the practice of the Chinese revolution, making a creative advance in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context.

对于马克思主义哲学与党的建设的关系，毛泽东曾从马克思主义总体观入手进行过说明。他说：“马列主义应包含三部分：一、马列主义的哲学，这是理论基础；二、马列主义的经济学，这是用马列主义的观点来考察经济现象的学说；三、马列主义的革命学说，比如关于阶级斗争、政党、无产阶级专政等的学说。这三部分不能分割，而应视为马列主义的三个有机联系的组成部分。”由此来看，党的纪律问题作为党的建设的关键一环，是马克思主义政党学说的重要内容，当然要以马克思主义哲学作为其基础。因此，毛泽东特别指出：“世界观是辩证唯物主义，这是共产党的理论基础。”正是这样，他运用马克思主义哲学对党的纪律问题进行深刻的哲学思考，在使党的纪律具有了坚实的马克思主义哲学基础的同时，也进一步把马克思主义哲学与中国革命实践结合起来，对马克思主义哲学中国化作出了创造性的推进。

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, strengthening Party discipline building has become an important part of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core advancing comprehensive and strict governance of the Party and carrying out the Party’s self-revolution. When Xi Jinping emphasizes Party discipline building, he

自党的十八大以来，加强党的纪律建设，成为以习近平同志为核心的党中央推进全面从严治党和进行党的自我革命的重要内容。习近平在强调党的纪律建设时，就反复指出要重视从世界观、人生观、价值观上来解决党的纪律问题，使全体党员具有遵守纪律、执行纪律、为党的事业奋斗的自觉性。正如他在党的二十大报告中所说：“加强理想信念教育，引导全党牢记党的宗旨，解决好世界观、人生观、价值观这个总开关问题，自觉做共产主义远大理想和中国特色社会主义共同理想的坚定信仰者和忠实实践者。”在这里，可以清楚地看到习近平关于全面加强党的纪律建设的重要论述，与毛泽东对党的纪律问题所作哲学思考的内在历史联系；可以清楚地看到毛泽东的这些哲学思考在今天仍未过时，对加强党的纪律建设、继续推进马克思主义哲学中国化仍然有着重要的启迪意义和指南作用，是我们需要珍惜和继承的宝贵思想遗产。

(Author’s biography: Li Weiwu, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at the School of Philosophy, Wuhan University; Researcher at the Institute of Marxist Philosophy, Wuhan University; Researcher at the Hubei Provincial Collaborative Innovation Center for Marxist Theory and Chinese Practice)

（作者简介：李维武，武汉大学哲学学院教授、博士生导师，武汉大学马克思主义哲学研究所研究员，马克思主义理论与中国实践湖北省协同创新中心研究员）

Online editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心