Upholding Party Spirit, Party Conduct, and Party Discipline as an Integrated Whole

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping, proceeding from the strategic height of advancing the great new project of Party building in the New Era, has pointed out that “Party spirit, Party conduct, and Party discipline form an organic whole, with Party spirit as the foundation, Party conduct as the manifestation, and Party discipline as the safeguard,” and has demanded “upholding the integration of rectifying conduct, enforcing discipline, and combating corruption, using ‘joint investigation’ to severely punish the intertwined problems of conduct and corruption, and using ‘joint governance’ to eradicate the common roots of conduct and corruption.” Upholding Party spirit, Party conduct, and Party discipline as an integrated whole, and integrating rectifying conduct, enforcing discipline, and combating corruption, is both a systematic summary of the practical experience of governing the Party since the New Era and a deepening of the understanding of the laws governing the construction of a Marxist ruling party, providing an important lever for deeply advancing the Party’s self-revolution.

党的十八大以来，习近平总书记从推进新时代党的建设新的伟大工程高度出发，指出“党性、党风、党纪是有机整体，党性是根本，党风是表现，党纪是保障”，要求“坚持正风肃纪反腐相贯通，以‘同查’严惩风腐交织问题，以‘同治’铲除风腐共性根源”。坚持党性党风党纪一起抓、正风肃纪反腐相贯通，既是对新时代以来管党治党实践经验的系统总结，也深化了对马克思主义执政党建设规律的认识，为深入推进党的自我革命提供了重要抓手。

I

一

At the end of 1845, Engels first used the concept of “Party spirit” in his “Preface and Concluding Remarks to ‘Fourier’s Fragment on Commerce’” to criticize the limitations of “true socialism” in detaching itself from the proletarian standpoint and indulging in empty talk about human nature. In the *Communist Manifesto*, Marx and Engels systematically expounded that the conduct of a proletarian party is to firmly stand on the class standpoint, “having no interests separate and apart from those of the proletariat as a whole.” In 1879, Marx and Engels wrote a letter to the leader of the German Social Democratic Party, August Bebel, explicitly opposing the vote of Social Democratic Party deputy Kaiser in favor of protective tariffs in violation of the party’s programmatic principles, emphasizing the need to strictly enforce Party discipline, defend the Party’s class standpoint, and wage an open struggle against it; otherwise, “the Party has no future.” Lenin, drawing on the practical experience of revolution and socialist construction, explained the mutually constitutive relationship between Party spirit and Party discipline, and between Party conduct and Party discipline. In his view, the manifestation of Party spirit requires strict discipline as a safeguard, while a highly conscious Party spirit is also a basic condition for maintaining Party discipline. In the early stages of the Russian revolution, Lenin pointed out that only strict Party discipline could free the Party from the willfulness and arbitrary behavior of the circle period, develop a Party spirit of centralized unity and unified action, and effectively fulfill the great mission shouldered by the Party. After the establishment of the socialist system, Lenin emphasized at the Ninth Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) that the Russian Bolshevik Party, with 600,000 members, could not play the role of the vanguard of the working class without iron discipline, and that Party members’ loyalty to the Party was “the basic condition for implementing and maintaining our strictest discipline”; this discipline, based on Party spirit, was superior to the general discipline barely maintained in capitalist society. Regarding the relationship between Party conduct and Party discipline, Lenin, on the one hand, emphasized that fine Party conduct consolidates Party discipline, and on the other hand, attached great importance to using Party discipline to constrain and improve Party conduct, pointing out that the conduct of tenacious struggle, the conduct of close ties with the working masses, and the conduct of adhering to correct political leadership are important prerequisites for establishing discipline.

1845年底，恩格斯在《“傅立叶论商业的片断”的前言和结束语》中首次使用“党性”概念，以批判“真正的社会主义”脱离无产阶级立场、空谈人性的局限性。在《共产党宣言》中，马克思恩格斯系统阐发了无产阶级政党的作风是站稳阶级立场，“没有任何同整个无产阶级的利益不同的利益”。1879年，马克思恩格斯致信德国社会民主党领袖奥·倍倍尔，明确反对德国社会民主党议员凯泽尔违反党纲原则投票赞成保护关税的行为，强调要严肃党纪，捍卫党的阶级立场，与其进行公开的斗争，否则“党是没有前途的”。列宁则从革命与社会主义建设的实践经验中总结阐释党性与党纪、党风与党纪的互构关系。在他看来，党性的彰显需要严格的纪律来保障，同时，高度自觉的党性也是保持党纪的基本条件。俄国革命初期，列宁指出只有严格的党纪约束才能使党摆脱小组时代的刚愎自用和任意胡闹，发扬集中统一、行动一致的党性，切实完成党肩负的伟大使命。社会主义制度建立后，列宁在俄共（布）第九次代表大会上强调，拥有60万党员的俄国布尔什维克党要发挥工人阶级先锋队的作用离不开铁的纪律，而党员对党忠诚是“实行和保持我们最严格的纪律的基本条件”，这种奠基于党性之上的党纪优于资本主义社会勉强维持的一般性纪律。关于党风与党纪的关系，列宁一方面强调优良党风筑牢党纪，另一方面又极为重视以党纪约束和改进党风，指出顽强斗争的作风、同劳动群众密切联系的作风、坚持正确政治领导的作风是建立纪律的重要前提。

In the historical process of socialist revolution, construction, and reform, our Party has continuously deepened its understanding of the relationship among Party spirit, Party conduct, and Party discipline. The “Three Main Rules of Discipline and Eight Points for Attention” [1]1 “Key minority” (关键少数) refers to leading cadres, especially senior officials at and above the county and departmental level, whose exemplary role is considered crucial for the overall governance of the Party. originated from Comrade Mao Zedong’s disciplinary requirements for the Workers’ and Peasants’ Revolutionary Army during the Agrarian Revolutionary War period, with the fundamental purpose of consolidating and safeguarding the Party spirit of upholding the interests of workers and peasants and promoting the fine conduct of close ties with the masses. After the founding of New China, our Party, with a work style of solidly conducting investigation and research, strictly observed Party discipline, and defended the Party spirit principles of seeking truth from facts and selflessness. Since reform and opening up, our Party has, under new historical conditions, done a good job in regular work such as Party spirit education, conduct building, and strict Party discipline, implemented the principle of strict governance of the Party in all areas of Party building, insisted on Party spirit in inner-Party life, promoted healthy tendencies and opposed unhealthy practices, strictly enforced Party discipline, and deeply advanced ideological building, organizational building, conduct building, institutional building, and anti-corruption and integrity building. Entering the New Era, General Secretary Xi Jinping has paid close attention to new trends in

在社会主义革命、建设、改革的历史进程中，我们党不断深化对党性、党风、党纪三者之间关系的认识。“三大纪律八项注意”最初源于土地革命时期毛泽东同志对工农革命军提出的纪律要求，根本目的在于巩固维护工农利益的党性立场、弘扬密切联系群众的优良作风。新中国成立后，我们党以扎实开展调查研究的工作作风，严守党的纪律，捍卫实事求是、大公无私的党性原则。改革开放以来，我们党在新的历史条件下抓好党性教育、作风建设、严肃党纪等经常性工作，把从严治党方针贯彻到党的建设各领域中去，坚持党内生活讲党性、弘扬正气反对歪风、严格执行党的纪律，深入推进思想建设、组织建设、作风建设、制度建设和反腐倡廉建设。进入新时代，习近平总书记高度关注党情党风新动向，以解决全面从严治党遇到的新问题、新挑战为导向，统筹把握党性、党风、党纪三者之间的内在关系，创造性提出党性、党风、党纪是有机整体，体现了治标与治本相结合、治病与强身相结合的系统思维，从建设一个坚强有力的长期执政的马克思主义政党战略高度着眼，把严的要求体现到管党治党各方面各环节，完善一体推进不敢腐、不能腐、不想腐工作机制，为新时代锤炼党性谋划了科学路径，也为解决现阶段党风廉政建设和反腐败斗争中风腐交织的突出问题提供了应对之道。更为重要的是，这一科学认识深刻阐明了马克思主义政党是“内在自觉性”与“外在规范性”相结合的统一体的鲜明特质，创造性地构建了“党性修养—作风养成—纪律形塑”之间的辩证转化机制，为深入推进正风肃纪反腐相贯通奠定了坚实理论基础。

II

二

Persisting in addressing Party spirit, Party conduct, and Party discipline together is a key measure for forever preserving the Party’s advanced nature and purity. To solve problems such as an unstable ideological defense line, the stubbornness and recurrence of conduct issues, and lax and loose discipline, the key lies in launching a combined set of governance measures.

坚持党性党风党纪一起抓，是永葆党的先进性和纯洁性的关键举措。破解思想防线不牢、作风问题的顽固性反复性、纪律宽松软等难题，关键在于打出治理组合拳。

Adhere to systematic thinking to achieve coordinated and comprehensive efforts. Party spirit education, conduct building, and discipline building are unified in the great new project of Party building for the New Era; it is necessary to use systematic thinking to promote the tempering of Party spirit, the correction of misconduct and the elimination of malpractices, and strict enforcement of discipline. First, adhere to holistic advancement. In all aspects of education, prevention, punishment, and supervision, ensure that Party spirit education, conduct building, and discipline building support each other, synergistically linking the deterrent effect of not daring to be corrupt, the rigid constraints of being unable to be corrupt, and the ideological awareness of not wanting to be corrupt, thereby unleashing an integrated effect. Second, adhere to breakthroughs on key points. Based on the actual characteristics of various fields, grasp the principal contradiction to achieve the effect of taking one key link to bring the whole network into place: in Party spirit education, prioritize strengthening political cultivation while simultaneously enhancing theoretical cultivation, moral cultivation, discipline cultivation, and conduct cultivation; in conduct building, attach great importance to the Party’s flesh-and-blood ties with the masses, and continuously deepen the rectification of formalism, bureaucracy, hedonism, and extravagance that are most strongly reflected by the masses and most damaging to Party-mass and cadre-mass relations; in discipline building, highlight the grasping of political discipline and political rules, deepen institutional governance of the Party and governance of the Party according to regulations, and advance the construction of intra-Party regulations in step with the times.

坚持系统思维，实现同向发力、综合发力。党性教育、作风建设、纪律建设统一于新时代党的建设新的伟大工程，必须以系统思维推动党性淬炼、纠风治弊、严明执纪。首先，坚持整体推进。在教育、预防、惩治、监督各个环节做到党性教育、作风建设、纪律建设互为支撑，将不敢腐的震慑作用、不能腐的刚性约束、不想腐的思想认识协同贯通起来，发挥集成效应。其次，坚持重点突破。结合各领域实际特点，抓主要矛盾，做到纲举目张：在党性教育中，将加强政治修养摆在首位，同步提升理论修养、道德修养、纪律修养、作风修养；在作风建设中，高度重视党同人民群众的血肉联系，持续深化纠治群众反映最强烈、最损害党群干群关系的形式主义、官僚主义、享乐主义、奢靡之风；在纪律建设中，突出抓政治纪律和政治规矩，深化制度治党、依规治党，与时俱进推进党内法规建设。

Adhere to normalcy and long-term effectiveness, achieving regular, detailed, and sustained efforts. First, the emphasis is on regularity. Treat addressing Party spirit, Party conduct, and Party discipline together as an important normalized task, integrating it into specific work in various fields such as economic construction, political construction, cultural construction, social construction, and ecological civilization construction, achieving a positive interaction between strengthening Party spirit, honing conduct, and strictly enforcing Party discipline on the one hand, and improving work quality and efficiency on the other. Second, the emphasis is on details. “In small matters and minor details, there is Party spirit, there are principles, and there is character”; small matters and minor details also reveal conduct and discipline. A large number of cases show that the corruption and degeneration of Party members and cadres often begins with a loss of integrity in small matters and minor details. Therefore, it is necessary to start with details such as holiday gift-giving and club receptions, taking concrete actions to achieve tangible results. Third, the emphasis is on sustained, long-term effort. Build a comprehensive system for the development and cultivation of Party members, carry out integrated education on Party spirit, Party conduct, and Party discipline, regularly analyze ideological trends, and adjust cultivation targets; improve the mechanism for managing and supervising Party members, incorporating the cultivation of Party spirit and the building of a clean and honest Party and government into the assessment system; explore coordination mechanisms among departments such as organization, propaganda, and discipline inspection and supervision, conduct joint supervision, and form a combined governance force.

坚持常态长效，做到抓常、抓细、抓长。其一，重在经常。把党性党风党纪一起抓作为一项重要的常态化任务来推进，将其融入经济建设、政治建设、文化建设、社会建设、生态文明建设等各领域具体工作，实现增强党性、砥砺作风、严明党纪与工作提质增效之间的良性互动。其二，重在细节。“小事小节中有党性、有原则、有人格”，小事小节也见作风、见纪律。大量案例显示，党员干部的腐化堕落往往始于小事小节处失守，因而必须从节庆送礼、会所接待等细节入手，出实招、见实效。其三，重在久久为功。构建全方位的党员发展培养体系，一体开展党性、党风、党纪教育，定期分析思想动态，调整培养对象；改进党员管理监督机制，将党性修养、党风廉政建设纳入考核体系；探索组织、宣传、纪检监察等部门协同机制，开展联合督导，形成治理合力。

Adhere to leading by example from the top, firmly grasping the “key minority.” [1]1 “Key minority” (关键少数) refers to leading cadres, especially senior officials at and above the county and departmental level, whose exemplary role is considered crucial for the overall governance of the Party. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasizes, “Leading cadres taking the lead should be concrete rather than abstract, comprehensive rather than selective, and consistent rather than starting with a bang and ending with a whimper.” Leading cadres at all levels should take self-discipline as the first pass, abide by Party discipline, take the lead in opposing corruption, consciously pursue healthy working and lifestyle habits, always maintain the fine conduct of hard work, frugality, and thrift, cultivate elegant interests, and improve Party spirit cultivation; manage their relatives and staff well, refrain from any form of privilege, eradicate the soil that breeds corruption, and manage the building of a clean and honest Party and government in their respective areas of responsibility; strictly implement intra-Party systems such as democratic centralism, the dual organizational life system for leading cadres, and the rules for decision-making and deliberation of leading bodies, strictly enforce intra-Party political life, and effectively strengthen Party principles, eliminate bad conduct, and strictly enforce intra-Party discipline.

坚持以上率下，紧紧抓住“关键少数”。习近平总书记强调，“领导干部带头，应该是具体的而不是抽象的、全面的而不是有选择的、一以贯之的而不是虎头蛇尾的”。各级领导干部应把洁身自好作为第一关，遵守党的纪律，带头反对腐败，自觉追求健康的工作方式和生活方式，始终保持艰苦朴素、勤俭节约的优良作风，培养高雅志趣，提高党性修养；管好亲属和身边工作人员，不搞任何形式的特权，铲除滋生腐败问题的土壤，管好分管领域的党风廉政建设；严格执行民主集中制、领导干部双重组织生活制度、领导班子议事决策规则等党内制度，严肃党内政治生活，切实坚定党性原则、消除不良作风、严肃党内纪律。

(Author: Li Yu, Researcher at the Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Party School of the Central Committee of the CPC [National Academy of Governance], and Lecturer at the Department of Scientific Socialism)

（作者：李钰，系中央党校〔国家行政学院〕习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想研究中心研究员、科学社会主义教研部讲师）

Online Editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心