Historical Experience of the Century-Old Party in Rectifying Formalism and Bureaucratism

Formalism and bureaucratism have a long history. The Communist Party of China has taken a clear stand against formalism and bureaucratism, continuously engaged in practical exploration, and accumulated valuable historical experience. Summarizing this experience is of great significance for strengthening the Party’s work style construction in the New Era and effectively eliminating formalism and bureaucratism.

形式主义官僚主义由来已久，中国共产党旗帜鲜明地反对形式主义官僚主义，不断进行实践探索，积累了宝贵的历史经验。总结好这些经验，对于加强新时代党的作风建设，有效破除形式主义官僚主义，具有重要的意义。

Persisting in Long-Term Effort and Tackling Difficulties

坚持久久为功与攻坚克难

Formalism and bureaucratism, as “cancers” of society, erode the Party’s mass base and undermine the people’s sense of well-being; they must be resolutely and thoroughly rectified. However, formalism and bureaucratism are characterized by their long-term and recurrent nature, so rectification work cannot be accomplished overnight and requires sustained long-term effort. At the same time, formalism and bureaucratism manifest differently in different periods, contexts, and situations, which requires us to be adept at discovering and accurately grasping the particular within the general, strengthening “targeted treatment,” and being skilled at fighting “tough battles.” Practice has proven that combining a protracted war with focused efforts to tackle key difficulties is a very important experience of our Party in rectifying formalism and bureaucratism.

形式主义官僚主义作为社会的“赘瘤”，瓦解党的群众基础，蚕食人民的幸福感，必须要坚决彻底整治。但是，形式主义官僚主义具有长期性、反复性的特点，整治工作不可能一蹴而就，需要久久为功。与此同时，形式主义官僚主义在不同时期不同场合不同情况下会有不同的表现，由此要求我们必须善于在共性之中发现并准确把握个性，强化“靶向治疗”，善打“攻坚战”。实践证明，坚持打持久战与突出重点打攻坚战相结合，是我们党整治形式主义官僚主义的一条非常重要的经验。

As early as the period of the democratic revolution, Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out that bureaucratism was an “extremely bad fellow” that should be “thrown into the cesspool”; he emphasized that “the attitude of formalism is very wrong” and believed that the main reason the Party’s strategic line could not penetrate deeply among the masses was the mischief of formalism. The Yan’an Rectification Movement [1]1 The Yan’an Rectification Movement was a Party-wide Marxist education campaign launched by the CPC from 1942 to 1945, aimed at correcting subjectivism, sectarianism, and Party formalism. carried out by our Party ultimately cultivated a “Yan’an work style” distinct from the “Xi’an work style.” After the founding of New China, to prevent Party cadres from turning from “public servants” into “masters of society,” the Common Program of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference [2]2 The Common Program served as the provisional constitution of the People’s Republic of China from its founding in 1949 until the adoption of the first formal constitution in 1954. included “opposing the bureaucratist work style of being divorced from the masses” in Article 18, clarifying the firm stance of the new regime. In response to the phenomena of formalism and bureaucratism that emerged in the early days of New China, our Party successively launched rectification campaigns and Party consolidation movements. Among them, the Party-wide rectification campaign focused on leading Party cadres at all levels, with the main task of overcoming bureaucratist and commandist work styles in Party-mass relations to strengthen the flesh-and-blood ties between the Party and the masses; the Party consolidation movement focused on Party grassroots organizations, with the central task of solving problems of ideological and organizational impurity within the Party to further purify the Party’s ranks and consolidate the Party’s grassroots fortresses. The rectification campaign and Party consolidation movement carried out in the early days of New China sounded the alarm against formalism and bureaucratism and further strengthened the work style of Party cadres serving the people. After reform and opening up, to create a new situation in Party building, the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee [3]3 The Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee, held in December 1978, marked the beginning of reform and opening up and a shift away from class struggle as the central task. incorporated into its communiqué contents such as “reducing meetings and documents, improving work efficiency,” “resolutely opposing the bureaucratist attitude of indifference to the pressing issues in people’s lives,” and “resolutely overcoming bureaucratism caused by excessive concentration of power,” reflecting the Party’s high political consciousness. According to the specific circumstances at the time, the Party’s focus in rectifying formalism and bureaucratism was to establish and improve relevant systems, making the concept of “governing the Party by institutions” deeply rooted in people’s minds.

早在民主革命时期，毛泽东同志就指出官僚主义是个“极坏的家伙”，应该“抛到粪缸里去”；强调“形式主义的态度是很不对的”，认为党的策略路线不能深入群众最主要的原因就是形式主义在作怪。我们党开展的延安整风运动，最终培养了一种有别于“西安作风”的“延安作风”。新中国成立后，为了防止党员干部由“社会公仆”变成“社会主人”，《中国人民政治协商会议共同纲领》把“反对脱离人民群众的官僚主义作风”写进第18条，明确了新生政权的坚定立场。针对新中国成立初期出现的形式主义官僚主义现象，我们党先后发起了整风和整党运动。其中，全党整风重点是各级担负领导工作的党员干部，主要任务是通过克服党群关系中的官僚主义、命令主义作风，加强党和人民群众的血肉联系；整党运动重点是党的基层组织，中心任务是通过解决党组织中的思想不纯、组织不纯问题，进一步纯洁党的队伍，巩固党的基层堡垒。新中国成立初期开展的整风和整党运动，敲响了对形式主义官僚主义的警钟，进一步强化了党员干部为人民服务的工作作风。改革开放后，为了开创党的建设工作的新局面，党的十一届三中全会把“减少会议公文，提高工作效率”“坚决反对对人民生活中的迫切问题漠不关心的官僚主义态度”，以及“坚决克服权力过于集中的官僚主义”等内容写进了全会公报，体现了党的高度政治自觉。根据当时的具体形势，党整治形式主义官僚主义的重点，是建立和健全相关制度，使“制度治党”的观念深入人心。

Emphasizing the Combination of the Leading Goose Effect and Strengthening Mass Supervision

重视头雁效应与强化群众监督相结合

Party leading cadres, as the organizers, managers, and promoters of the Party’s fine work style construction, are the weather vanes of the Party’s work style construction. The masses are the creators of history and the ultimate decisive force driving social development and progress. History has proven that rectifying formalism and bureaucratism requires both leading from the top to give full play to the leading goose effect of leading cadres and fully promoting democracy to strengthen the supervisory role of the masses, making the two complement each other. This is another important experience of our Party in rectifying formalism and bureaucratism.

党的领导干部作为党的优良作风建设的组织者、管理者和推动者，是党的作风建设的风向标。人民群众是历史的创造者，是推动社会发展进步的最终决定力量。历史证明，整治形式主义官僚主义，既要坚持以上率下充分发挥领导干部的头雁效应，同时又要充分发扬民主强化人民群众的监督作用，使二者互为补充，是我们党整治形式主义官僚主义的又一条重要经验。

During the period of the New Democratic Revolution, at the critical moment when the national revolution was about to win victory, to prevent some Party cadres from resting on their laurels and breeding formalism and bureaucratism, Comrade Mao Zedong, while putting forward the important thought of the “Two Musts” [4]4 The “Two Musts” refers to Mao Zedong’s call at the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee in 1949 that the whole Party must remain modest, prudent, and free from arrogance and rashness, and must preserve the style of hard struggle. at the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee [5]5 The Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee was held in March 1949 on the eve of the nationwide victory of the Chinese revolution., took the lead by making the “Three Prohibitions” [6]6 The “Three Prohibitions” refers to Mao Zedong’s personal decision not to hold birthday celebrations, not to name places after himself, and not to shake hands with foreign guests. decision within the Party. After the founding of New China, in response to the behavior of some units mobilizing the masses to write congratulatory letters and send banners to the Central Committee, the Central Committee of the CPC specifically issued the “Directive on Correcting the Wasteful Practices of Some Party and Government Organs in Mobilizing the Masses to Write Letters of Respect, Send Congratulatory Telegrams, Present Banners and Gifts, etc.,” promptly curbing the formalism and bureaucratism of some Party cadres who engaged in sycophantic and wasteful practices. We must also recognize that formalism and bureaucratism violate the Party’s nature and purpose, have always been the most strongly felt problems among the masses, and are an important source of alienating Party-mass and cadre-mass relations. Therefore, the Party has deeply realized through long-term practice that to thoroughly rectify formalism and bureaucratism, it is not enough to merely emphasize that Party cadres overcome selfish intentions and break selfish thoughts; it is also necessary to fully promote democracy, mobilize the initiative and proactiveness of the broad masses in supervision, and let formalism and bureaucratism be submerged in the vast ocean of people’s supervision.

新民主主义革命时期，在全国革命即将取得胜利的关键时刻，为了防止有些党的干部以功臣自居滋生形式主义官僚主义作风，毛泽东同志在党的七届二中全会上提出“两个务必”重要思想的同时，率先垂范在党内作出了“三个禁止”的决定。新中国成立后，针对有些单位动员人民群众给中央写贺信送锦旗的行为，中共中央专门出台《关于纠正某些党政机关发动群众写致敬信、发祝贺电、送旗送礼等浪费现象的指示》，及时刹住了一些党员干部歌功颂德劳民伤财的形式主义官僚主义之风。我们也要看到，形式主义官僚主义违背党的性质和宗旨，一直以来是群众反映最为强烈的问题，是离间党群关系干群关系的重要根源，所以党在长期实践中深刻认识到要彻底整治形式主义官僚主义，仅强调党员干部克服利己之心、破除利己之念是不够的，还必须充分发扬民主，调动广大人民群众监督的积极性主动性，让形式主义官僚主义陷入人民监督的汪洋大海。

Strengthening Ideological Consciousness and Institutional Building

强化思想自觉与制度建设

Formalism and bureaucratism are a pair of twin brothers that follow each other like a shadow. From an ideological root, both are subjectivism divorced from reality. Therefore, rectifying formalism and bureaucratism must build an ideological dam through political education and consolidate the ideological foundation for conscious resistance; at the same time, it must strengthen institutional guidance and tightly weave and fasten the cage of institutions. Practice has proven that combining the strengthening of political education to consolidate ideological consciousness with the strengthening of institutional building to focus on external guidance is another important experience of our Party in rectifying formalism and bureaucratism.

形式主义与官僚主义是一对如影随形的孪生兄弟，从思想根源上来讲二者都是脱离实际的主观主义，因此，整治形式主义官僚主义必须通过政治教育筑牢思想堤坝，夯实自觉抵制的思想基础；与此同时，还必须强化制度引领，编密扎紧制度的笼子。实践证明，坚持强化政治教育夯实思想自觉与加强制度建设注重外在引领相结合，是我们党整治形式主义官僚主义的又一条重要经验。

During the period of the New Democratic Revolution, Comrade Mao Zedong, in response to various non-proletarian ideologies prevalent within the Party, such as subjectivism and warlordism, particularly emphasized that “planned intra-Party education, correcting the previous unplanned and laissez-faire state, is one of the Party’s important tasks”; at the same time, the Party also attached great importance to using legal systems to ensure the Party’s clean governance, formulating a series of laws and regulations to prevent formalism and bureaucratism. These included both preventive laws and regulations and punitive laws and regulations. The promulgation of these laws and regulations had a huge deterrent effect on improving the Party’s work style and preventing formalism and bureaucratism. After the founding of New China, in response to some phenomena of formalism and bureaucratism that appeared in practical work, the Party launched the “Three-Anti” and “Five-Anti” campaigns [7]7 The “Three-Anti” campaign (1951-1952) targeted corruption, waste, and bureaucratism within the Party and government; the “Five-Anti” campaign (1952) targeted bribery, tax evasion, theft of state property, cheating on government contracts, and stealing state economic information among private businesses., which played a good guiding role in preventing the degeneration and corruption of Party members. The Party Central Committee required Party organizations at all levels, while focusing on ideological construction, to also strengthen the construction of relevant systems, and clarified that the center of institutional construction was the democratic system, also including financial systems, personnel systems, work, life, and study systems, as well as supervision and inspection systems, believing this to be “an important key to raising the level of awareness and work efficiency of state functionaries.”

新民主主义革命时期，毛泽东同志针对党内流行的主观主义、军阀作风等各种非无产阶级思想，就特别强调“有计划地进行党内教育，纠正过去之无计划的听其自然的状态，是党的重要任务之一”；同时，党也非常注重用法律制度来保证党的廉洁执政，制定了一系列防止形式主义官僚主义的法规制度。这其中既包括预防性法规制度，也包括惩戒性法规制度。这些法规制度的颁布，对于改善党的作风，防止形式主义官僚主义产生了巨大的威慑作用。新中国成立后，针对实际工作中出现的一些形式主义官僚主义现象，党开展的“三反”“五反”运动，对防止党员腐化变质起到了很好的导向作用。党中央要求各级党组织在注重思想建设的同时，还提出必须加强相关制度建设，并明确制度建设的中心是民主制度，也包括财务制度，人事制度，工作、生活及学习制度和监察、检查制度等，认为这是“提高国家工作人员的觉悟程度和工作效率的重要关键”。

Looking back over the Party’s more than one hundred years of struggle, the historical experience of the Communist Party of China in rectifying formalism and bureaucratism is extremely precious. Facing new situations and new tasks, to comprehensively rectify formalism and bureaucratism, we must both inherit the Party’s historical wisdom of fighting a “protracted war” and use new technological means such as big data supervision and smart Party building to enhance the effectiveness of fighting “tough battles”; we must both give full play to the “leading goose effect” of Party cadres and broaden channels for mass participation through new models such as “Internet + supervision”; we must both build an ideological defense line and improve the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party system, promoting the normalization, long-term effectiveness, and institutionalization of the Party’s work style construction, providing a strong guarantee for comprehensively building a modern socialist country.

纵观党的百余年奋斗史，中国共产党整治形式主义官僚主义的历史经验弥足珍贵。面对新形势新任务，全面整治形式主义官僚主义，我们既要传承党打“持久战”的历史智慧，更要运用大数据监督、智慧党建等新技术手段提升打“攻坚战”的效能；既要充分发挥党员干部的“头雁效应”，更要通过“互联网+监督”等新模式拓宽群众参与的渠道；既要筑牢思想防线，更要完善全面从严治党制度体系，推动党的作风建设常态化长效化制度化，为全面建设社会主义现代化国家提供坚强保障。

(The author is an associate professor at the School of Marxism, Zhoukou Normal University)

（作者系周口师范学院马克思主义学院副教授）

Online Editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心