Cultivating the Communist’s “Mind Study” Begins with Firming Up Ideals and Convictions

General Secretary Xi Jinping has stressed that Communists must cultivate their “mind study,” persist in integrating learning, thinking, and application, and unify knowledge and action. One important purpose of this is to require Party cadres and members to firm up their ideals and convictions and strengthen their Party spirit. Ideals and convictions are the “spiritual calcium” and “rudder of thought” for Communists; they are the very foundation on which Communists establish themselves and live their lives. Cultivating the Communist’s “mind study” begins with using ideals and convictions to settle the mind’s resolve, temper the will, and raise fighting spirit.

习近平总书记强调，要修炼共产党人的“心学”，坚持学思用贯通、知信行统一，其中一个重要目的就是要求党员干部坚定理想信念、增强党性。理想信念是共产党人的“精神之钙”“思想之舵”，是共产党人安身立命的根本。修炼共产党人的“心学”，首在以理想信念定心志、淬意志、昂斗志。

Ideals and convictions are the “first and foremost matter” for Communists. “Without a resolve, nothing in the world can be accomplished.” [1]1 A classical Chinese saying from Wang Yangming, often cited to emphasize the necessity of setting a firm resolve before any undertaking. Setting a resolve is the starting point for cultivating the “mind”; it is the prerequisite for a person to “know where to stop” and then “work on oneself,” “overcome oneself,” and “perfect oneself.” [2]2 References to Confucian self-cultivation concepts from the *Great Learning* (*Daxue*), where “knowing where to stop” leads to inner stability and moral self-development. The reason resolve is so important is that it establishes the ultimate meaning and the main task of one’s life. If a person’s life lacks the establishment of resolve, life becomes confused and the spirit becomes empty. Looking back over the Party’s history of more than one hundred years, “the reason our Party has been able to endure one setback after another and yet rise up again and again is, in the final analysis, that our Party has lofty ideals and noble pursuits.” [3]3 Quotation from Xi Jinping, commemorating the 95th anniversary of the CPC (2016). The Communist Party of China, as a proletarian party guided by Marxist theory, not only possesses the universality common to all political parties but also has its own particularity, namely, that it takes firm ideals and convictions as its essential characteristic. “A Marxist party is not a party formed by interests; it is a party organized by shared ideals and convictions.” [4]4 Quotation from Xi Jinping, emphasizing the ideological basis of the Marxist party. It can be said that ideals and convictions are the inner basis for the founding of a Marxist political party, the ideological foundation for achieving its own unity and solidarity, and the inexhaustible driving force for our Party to strengthen its own Party building and lead the people forward. Therefore, joining the Communist Party of China means that we resolve to take the Party’s ideals and convictions as our own “first and foremost matter in life.” Only by understanding the loftiness of ideals and convictions, consciously adhering to the resolve to strive and dedicate oneself for them, and recognizing them as one’s own “first and foremost matter in life” can Communists continuously use the light of ideals and convictions to dispel the darkness on the road ahead, allow the energy of the spirit to burst forth, make ideals and convictions the fixed star of life, and ensure that one’s “original aspiration” remains unmoved and self-mastering. Cultivating the Communist’s “mind study” means setting the resolve to serve the people, cultivating the “mind” of “achievements do not necessarily have to be made by me, but achievements must necessarily include me,” [5]5 A well-known phrase attributed to Xi Jinping, expressing a selfless attitude being “with me” in the face of pioneering innovation and solid work, being “without me” in the face of fame, fortune, advancement, and personal gain or loss, and being “forgetful of me” in the face of hard struggle and selfless dedication, always adhering to the Communist’s ideals and convictions with the responsibility of “with me,” “without me,” and “forgetful of me.”

理想信念是共产党人的“第一等事”。“志不立，天下无可成之事”，立志是修“心”的起点，是一个人“知止”而后“为己”“克己”“成己”的前提。志之所以如此重要，是因为它为我们的人生确立了终极意义和主线任务。人生若没有志的确立，生活就会迷茫，精神就会空虚。回顾党的百余年历史，“我们党之所以能够经受一次次挫折而又一次次奋起，归根到底是因为我们党有远大理想和崇高追求”。中国共产党作为以马克思主义理论为指导的无产阶级政党，除了具备政党的普遍性外，还具有自身的特殊性，那就是以坚定的理想信念为本质特征。“马克思主义政党不是因利益而结成的政党，而是以共同理想信念而组织起来的政党。”可以说，理想信念是马克思主义政党建党的内在依据，是实现自身团结统一的思想基础，也是我们党加强自身建设、带领人民不断前进的不竭动力。因此，加入中国共产党，就意味着我们立志要以党的理想信念为自己的“人生第一等事”。只有明白了理想信念的崇高，并自觉坚守为之拼搏奉献的志向，认定其为自己的“人生第一等事”，共产党人才能不断用理想信念之光去驱散前进道路上的黑暗，才能让精神的能量爆发出来，让理想信念成为人生的定盘星，确保自己的“初心”如如不动、自作主宰。修炼共产党人“心学”，是立为人民服务之志，修“功成不必在我，功成必定有我”之“心”，在开拓创新和真抓实干面前“有我”，在功名利禄和进退得失面前“无我”，在艰苦奋斗和无私奉献面前“忘我”，始终以“有我”“无我”“忘我”的担当坚守共产党人的理想信念。

Always firming up ideals and convictions is the Communist’s “tempering through affairs.” Wang Yangming once said: Holding to resolve is like a pain in the heart. [6] With the mind entirely focused on the pain, one must surely think day and night about how to firm up and realize one’s ideals and convictions. At any time, setting a resolve means that one must strive, blaze new trails, and realize the ideal. Therefore, a firm resolve contains the strong will and fighting spirit to turn the ideal into reality and to create “something” out of “nothing.” In semi-colonial and semi-feudal old China, it was precisely because batch after batch of Communists always adhered to the lofty resolve of using Marxism to save the nation from subjugation and ensure its survival that New China could be established and national independence, national prosperity and strength, and the people’s happiness could become a reality. Ideals are not realized overnight or simply; rather, one must face many difficulties and challenges. Only by firming up their ideals and convictions can Communists withstand various difficulties and challenges and walk steadily and far. In recent years, the anti-corruption cases of “hunting tigers,” “swatting flies,” and “chasing foxes” [7] all confirm this: political deterioration, economic greed, moral decay, and lifestyle corruption begin with the loss of ideals and convictions. Ideals and convictions are the fundamental and decisive factor for Communists to stand firm on their political stance, withstand various tests, and resist various temptations. If ideals and convictions are even slightly unfirm, one will deviate from Party spirit, lose the original aspiration, weaken fighting spirit, and ultimately fall into error. Firm ideals and convictions are not spontaneously generated, nor are they achieved overnight, and still less are they achieved once and for all; being firm in the past does not mean being firm in the present, and being firm in the present does not mean being firm in the future. Communists must, in the long-term practice of cultivating the “mind,” replenish their “spiritual calcium,” learn and progress for a lifetime, and transform and improve for a lifetime. This is the Communist’s “tempering through affairs.” Firming up ideals and convictions necessarily requires the unity of knowledge and action, and necessarily requires loyalty to the Party. The reason “double-faced people” [8] appear within the Party is that their ideals and convictions either were never established at all or have already been lost. Firming up ideals and convictions necessarily requires a truly strong Party spirit; a strong Party spirit is the best interpretation of firm ideals and convictions. Conversely, “the most dangerous shake is the shake of ideals and convictions; the most dangerous slide is the slide of ideals and convictions.” [9] Firming up ideals and convictions means adding “mind” material for Communists to resist corruption and prevent degeneration. Communists are made of “special material”; this “special material” is “mind” material, the life resolve established by firm ideals and convictions. This “mind” material not only enables Party members to show firm determination and courage when facing difficulties and challenges but also enables them to forge an “indestructible body” when facing corrosion and temptation.

始终坚定理想信念是共产党人的“事上磨炼”。王阳明曾说：持志如心痛。一心在痛上，必定日思夜想的都是如何坚定和实现理想信念。在任何时候，立志就意味着要为理想去拼搏、开拓，实现理想。因此，坚定的志向包含着要将理想变为现实、从“无”中创造出“有”的坚强意志和奋斗精神。在半殖民地半封建的旧中国，正是一批批共产党人始终坚持以马克思主义救亡图存的鸿鹄之志，才使新中国得以建立，使民族独立、国家富强、人民幸福成为现实。理想不是一朝一夕、简简单单就能实现的，而是要面对诸多困难和挑战。共产党人只有坚定理想信念，才能经得住各种困难挑战，才能走得稳、走得远。这些年“打虎”、“拍蝇”、“猎狐”的反腐案例无不证实：政治上变质、经济上贪婪、道德上堕落、生活上腐化，是从理想信念的丧失开始的。理想信念是共产党人站稳政治立场、经受各种考验、抵御各种诱惑的根本性和决定性因素。如果理想信念稍有不坚定，就会背离党性、丢失初心、削弱斗志，最终堕入歧途。坚定的理想信念不是自发产生的，也不是一蹴而就的，更不是一劳永逸的，过去坚定并不意味着现在坚定，现在坚定并不意味着将来坚定。共产党人必须要在长期的修“心”实践中补足“精神之钙”，一辈子学习进步，一辈子改造提高，这就是共产党人的“事上磨炼”。坚定理想信念，必定要知行合一，必定要对党忠诚。党内之所以会出现“两面人”，就是因为他们的理想信念要么根本就没有树立，要么已经丧失。坚定理想信念，必定要有真正坚强的党性，坚强党性是对坚定理想信念的最好诠释。反之，“理想信念动摇是最危险的动摇，理想信念滑坡是最危险的滑坡”。坚定理想信念，就是为共产党人加入拒腐防变的“心”材料。共产党人是用“特殊材料”做成的，这个“特殊材料”就是“心”材料，就是坚定的理想信念所确立的人生志向。这个“心”材料不仅让共产党员在面对困难挑战时表现出坚强的决心与勇气，也让他们在面对腐蚀诱惑时炼就“金刚不坏之身”。

Using firm ideals and convictions to raise revolutionary fighting spirit is the Communist’s “unity of knowledge and action.” General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out that the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is by no means something that can be achieved easily, by beating gongs and drums. To realize this great dream, a great struggle must be carried out. Currently, the risks and tests we face will only become more complex. By firming up their ideals and convictions, Communists can clearly recognize their own historical mission and be full of confidence in realizing the lofty ideal of communism and the common ideal of socialism with Chinese characteristics. This firm conviction is not only a profound identification with theory but also a firm commitment to practice and boundless enthusiasm for the cause. Only by embracing this confidence and enthusiasm, and deeply understanding that one’s own ideals and convictions are closely linked to the fate of the nation and the country, can Communists always maintain a high revolutionary fighting spirit when facing various risks and challenges, not only having a clear understanding in thought but also showing incomparable courage and determination in action; can they carry forward the spirit of struggle, weather storms, gain experience, and strengthen their backbone in complex and severe struggles, solidifying the ideological foundation for daring to struggle and being good at struggling; can they improve their ability to struggle, becoming fighters with high morale, daring to struggle, and good at struggling, advancing bravely in the face of stormy challenges and continuously achieving victory.

以坚定理想信念昂扬革命斗志，是共产党人的“知行合一”。习近平总书记指出，中华民族伟大复兴，绝不是轻轻松松、敲锣打鼓就能实现的。为了实现这一伟大梦想，必须进行伟大斗争。当前，我们面临的风险与考验只会越来越复杂，坚定理想信念，共产党人就能认清自身的历史使命，对实现共产主义远大理想和中国特色社会主义共同理想充满信心。这种坚定的信念，不仅是对理论的深刻认同，更是对实践的坚定执着和对事业的无限热忱。只有怀抱这种自信和热忱，深知自己的理想信念与国家和民族的命运紧密相连，共产党人才能在面对各种风险和挑战时始终保持昂扬的革命斗志，不仅在思想上有着清醒的认识，更在行动上展现出无比的勇气和决心；才能发扬斗争精神，在复杂严峻的斗争中经风雨、见世面、壮筋骨，夯实敢于斗争、善于斗争的思想根基；才能提高斗争本领，成为斗志昂扬、敢于斗争、善于斗争的战士，在面对惊涛骇浪的挑战时勇往直前，不断取得胜利。

(The author is Vice President of Guizhou University)

（作者系贵州大学副校长）

Online editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心