The Experience and Enlightenment of the Party’s Strengthening of Discipline Building during the Xiangshan Period

The building of Party discipline, as an important component of Party building, has been the key to the continuous growth, development, and strengthening of the Communist Party of China over the past 100-plus years. In the Party’s century-long struggle, the Xiangshan period is an extremely important period. Here, the Central Committee of the CPC successfully completed three major tasks: advancing the nationwide military campaign, preparing for the new Political Consultative Conference, and establishing a new China, marking the initial victory of the “journey to Beijing to take the examination.” [1]1 “Journey to Beijing to take the examination” (进京赶考) refers to Mao Zedong’s metaphor in March 1949, as the CPC Central Committee moved from Xibaipo to Beijing, comparing the Party’s assumption of national governance to an imperial examination, emphasizing the need to pass the test of power. General Secretary Xi Jinping, when inspecting the Xiangshan Revolution Memorial Site in Beijing, pointed out: “Although the Central Committee of the CPC was in Xiangshan, Beijing, for only half a year, this place was the general headquarters for our Party’s leadership of the War of Liberation toward nationwide victory and the great victory of the New Democratic Revolution, an important symbol of the shift in the center of the Chinese revolution from the countryside to the cities, and holds a very important position in the history of the Communist Party of China and the history of the People’s Republic of China.” It was precisely during the Xiangshan period that the people’s army led by the Party won the nationwide victory in the War of Liberation, and this achievement was inseparable from the comprehensive strengthening of discipline building within the Party and the people’s army. Therefore, systematically summarizing the rich practice and successful experience of the Party’s discipline building during the Xiangshan period is of great significance for comprehensively strengthening the Party’s discipline building in the New Era and deeply advancing the Party’s self-revolution.

党的纪律建设作为党的建设的重要内容，是100多年来中国共产党不断成长、发展和壮大的关键所在。在党的百年奋斗历程中，香山时期是一个极为重要的时期。在这里，中共中央圆满完成了向全国进军、筹备新政协、筹建新中国三件大事，标志着“进京赶考”首战告捷。习近平总书记在视察北京香山革命纪念地时指出：“中共中央在北京香山虽然只有半年时间，但这里是我们党领导解放战争走向全国胜利、新民主主义革命取得伟大胜利的总指挥部，是中国革命重心从农村转向城市的重要标志，在中国共产党历史、中华人民共和国历史上具有非常重要的地位。”正是在香山期间，党领导的人民军队赢得了解放战争的全国性胜利，这一成就的取得与党和人民军队全面加强纪律建设是分不开的。因此，系统总结香山时期党的纪律建设的丰富实践和成功经验，对于新时代全面加强党的纪律建设、深入推进党的自我革命具有重要意义。

Adhere to the principle that Party discipline building serves the Party’s central tasks. During the Xiangshan period, the Party’s central tasks were mainly to consolidate and strive for nationwide victory in the War of Liberation, stabilize the newly established political power of the Party in various parts of the country, and gradually promote the shift of the Party’s work focus from the countryside to the cities. To achieve these important tasks, strong Party leadership was needed as a backing. And strong Party leadership, in turn, was inseparable from strict Party discipline as a guarantee. In March 1949, the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the CPC [2]2 The Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the CPC was held in March 1949 in Xibaipo, Hebei Province, and made key decisions on shifting the Party’s work focus from rural to urban areas and on economic policy after the victory of the revolution. made the decision to shift the Party’s work focus from the countryside to the cities. This major strategic decision placed higher demands on Party discipline building. Later, when reporting to senior cadres heading south, Zhu De [3]3 Zhu De (1886–1976) was a founding father of the People’s Republic of China, commander-in-chief of the People’s Liberation Army, and a key military leader of the CPC. listed “policy and discipline issues” as the first important issue to pay attention to, proposing strict adherence to mass discipline, economic discipline, and command discipline. After the Yangtze River Crossing Campaign, [4]4 The Yangtze River Crossing Campaign (April–June 1949) was the military operation in which the People’s Liberation Army crossed the Yangtze River, capturing Nanjing, the capital of the Kuomintang government, and advancing the final phase of the Chinese Civil War. the people’s army led by the Party entered the heartland of Kuomintang rule. Especially with the successive liberation of large and medium-sized cities such as Nanjing, Hangzhou, and Shanghai, restoring urban social order and consolidating the new political power became an important task. To this end, the Central Committee of the CPC promptly formulated and issued some disciplinary regulations, emphasizing that the whole Party’s focus had shifted to consolidating victory and building a new China. It proposed that observing discipline represented a major ideological shift. The successful completion of the Party’s central tasks during the Xiangshan period was inseparable from the Party’s emphasis on and strengthening of discipline building.

坚持党的纪律建设服务于党的中心任务。香山时期党的中心任务主要是巩固和争取解放战争的全国胜利，稳定党在全国各地建立的新生政权，逐步推动党的工作重心由农村向城市转移。要实现这一重要任务，需要有党的坚强领导作为后盾。而党的坚强领导，又离不开党的严明纪律作为保障。1949年3月，党的七届二中全会作出党的工作重心从农村向城市转移的决定，这一重大战略决策对党的纪律建设提出了更高要求。后来，朱德在对南下高级干部作报告时更是把“政策与纪律问题”列为首要注意的一个问题，提出要严格遵守群众纪律、经济纪律和指挥纪律。渡江战役之后，党领导的人民军队进入了国民党统治的中心地带，特别是随着南京、杭州、上海等大中城市的相继解放，怎样恢复城市社会秩序、巩固新生政权就成为一项重要任务。为此，中共中央及时制定并出台了一些纪律规定，强调全党中心转到了巩固胜利、建设新中国。提出遵守纪律，这是一个大的思想转变。香山时期党的中心任务的圆满完成，离不开党对纪律建设的重视和加强。

Adhere to the principle that Party discipline building takes safeguarding the interests of the people as its foundation. In 1949, the nationwide War of Liberation entered the stage of strategic pursuit. At this critical juncture, Party discipline building became even more important. Once discipline became lax, it would not only damage the combat effectiveness of the people’s army but also affect the people’s support and endorsement for the Party and the people’s army. Zhu De demanded that cadres heading south lead by example, strictly enforce mass discipline, and effectively refrain from infringing upon the interests of the masses. Mao Zedong and Zhu De jointly issued the “Proclamation of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army,” announcing the Eight-Point Charter, [5]5 The Eight-Point Charter (约法八章) was a set of eight disciplinary regulations issued by the People’s Liberation Army in April 1949 to govern the conduct of troops in newly liberated cities, including protection of life and property, fair trade, and respect for local customs. placing “protecting the lives and property of all the people” as the first article, requiring the people’s army to be strict in discipline, conduct fair trade, and not take a single needle or thread from the people. It can be said that a series of disciplinary regulations formulated during the Xiangshan period reflected the Party’s firm purpose and conviction to safeguard and protect the interests of the people, strengthened Party-mass relations and military-civilian relations, and were one of the key factors in the final victory of the War of Liberation.

坚持党的纪律建设以维护人民群众利益为根本。1949年，全国解放战争进入了战略追击阶段。在这关键时刻，党的纪律建设更加重要。一旦纪律松弛，不仅损害人民军队的战斗力，还影响人民群众对党和人民军队的支持与拥护。朱德要求南下干部以身作则，严格执行群众纪律，切实做到不侵犯群众利益。毛泽东、朱德联名颁布《中国人民解放军布告》，宣布约法八章，把“保护全体人民的生命财产”置于首条，要求人民军队必须纪律严明，公买公卖，不许妄取民间一针一线。可以说，香山时期制定的一系列纪律规定，体现了党坚定维护和保障人民群众利益的宗旨信念，密切党群关系、军民关系，是解放战争取得最后胜利的关键因素之一。

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “We must insist on treating the small matters of the people as our own major matters, start from the things the people care about, start from the things that satisfy the people, and lead the people to continuously create a better life!” Safeguarding the fundamental interests of the people is the starting point and foothold of all the Party’s work, and it is also the core and foundation of comprehensively strengthening Party discipline building since the New Era. The revised “Regulations of the Communist Party of China on Disciplinary Actions” (2015) [6]6 The “Regulations of the Communist Party of China on Disciplinary Actions” (中国共产党纪律处分条例) is a foundational intra-Party regulation specifying disciplinary violations and punishments for Party members, first issued in 1997 and revised multiple times, most recently in 2023. devotes a special chapter to stipulating disciplinary actions for violations of mass discipline, detailing various disciplinary violations such as harming the interests of the masses and ignoring the demands of the masses, along with their corresponding punishments. Mass discipline has also become one of the Party’s six major disciplines, providing disciplinary guarantees for safeguarding the fundamental interests of the people.

习近平总书记指出：“我们要坚持把人民群众的小事当作自己的大事，从人民群众关心的事情做起，从让人民群众满意的事情做起，带领人民不断创造美好生活！”维护人民群众的根本利益是党的一切工作的出发点和立足点，也是新时代以来全面加强党的纪律建设的核心和根本。2015年修订的《中国共产党纪律处分条例》将违反群众纪律行为的处分规定专设一章，详细规定了损害群众利益、漠视群众诉求等各种违纪行为及其对应的处分，群众纪律亦成为党的六大纪律中的一项，这为维护人民群众的根本利益提供了纪律保障。

Adhere to advancing Party discipline building in step with the times. During the Xiangshan period, the War of Liberation led by the Party deepened and gradually moved toward nationwide victory, which required Party discipline building to keep pace in a timely manner. At that time, the Central Committee of the CPC and the Central Military Commission issued a series of disciplinary regulations, providing guarantees for the effective takeover of cities by troops entering them. However, during the process of taking over cities, some organs and troops entering the cities still committed disciplinary violations, such as not buying tickets as required for trains, plays, and movies, arbitrarily destroying capitalists’ factories, and confiscating capitalists’ property and houses, harming the interests of urban citizens and the national bourgeoisie. [7]7 The national bourgeoisie (民族资产阶级) refers to the Chinese capitalist class that was considered patriotic and supportive of the CPC’s New Democratic Revolution, as distinct from the comprador bourgeoisie aligned with foreign imperialists. To this end, the Party Central Committee issued successive directives, promptly revising and improving the policies and discipline for taking over cities, specifically pointing out that the practice of bathhouses, theater troupes, and cinemas providing free entertainment or half-price treatment to the People’s Liberation Army was incorrect and violated the principle of fair trade, and requiring the protection of the houses and property of large, medium, and small national capitalists, among other things. This promoted the restoration and consolidation of urban social and production order.

坚持与时俱进地推进党的纪律建设。香山时期，党领导的解放战争深入推进，逐步走向全国胜利，这就要求党的纪律建设也要及时跟进。当时，中共中央、中央军委出台了一系列纪律规定，为入城部队有效接管城市提供了保障。然而，在接管城市过程中，入城的机关和部队仍然发生了不按规定买票乘车、看戏、看电影，随意破坏资本家的工厂、没收资本家的财产房屋等违纪行为，损害了城市市民以及民族资产阶级的利益。为此，党中央接连发布指示，及时修改和完善接管城市的政策纪律，特别指出规定澡堂、剧团、电影院免费慰劳解放军或半价优待的办法是不对的，违反了买卖公平的原则，并要求保护大中小民族资本家的房屋财产，等等。这促进了城市社会和生产秩序的恢复和巩固。

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, [8]8 The 18th National Congress of the CPC, held in November 2012, marked the beginning of the New Era under Xi Jinping’s leadership and initiated a comprehensive campaign against corruption and for strict Party governance. facing profound changes in both the internal conditions and external environment of the Party’s governance, General Secretary Xi Jinping has placed Party discipline building in a prominent position in Party building, advancing theoretical, practical, and institutional innovation in Party discipline building in step with the times. On the one hand, it has clarified that Party discipline includes six aspects: political discipline, organizational discipline, integrity discipline, mass discipline, work discipline, and life discipline, and has listed political discipline as the foremost of the Party’s six major disciplines, being the most important, most fundamental, and most crucial discipline. On the other hand, the “Regulations of the Communist Party of China on Disciplinary Actions” have been revised three times, [9]9 The three revisions of the disciplinary regulations since the 18th National Congress occurred in 2015, 2018, and 2023, each updating provisions to address new challenges in Party governance. promptly summarizing and absorbing beneficial practices and practical experience, ensuring that Party discipline building can keep pace with the progress of the times, promoting Party discipline building to resonate with the times and vibrate with development, and providing a strong disciplinary guarantee for the advancement of Chinese-path modernization.

党的十八大以来，面对党执政的内部条件和外部环境都发生的深刻变化，习近平总书记把党的纪律建设摆在党的建设的突出位置，与时俱进地推进党的纪律建设理论、实践和制度创新。一方面，明确党的纪律包括政治纪律、组织纪律、廉洁纪律、群众纪律、工作纪律、生活纪律六个方面，并把政治纪律列为党的六大纪律之首，属于最重要、最根本、最关键的纪律。另一方面，先后三次修订《中国共产党纪律处分条例》，及时总结和吸收有益的做法和实践经验，确保党的纪律建设能够跟上时代前进的步伐，促进党的纪律建设与时代同频、与发展共振，为中国式现代化的推进提供坚强的纪律保障。

Adhere to the organic integration of Party discipline education and discipline enforcement. During the Xiangshan period, the Party and the people’s army strictly implemented the regulation of conducting discipline education before every military operation. On the eve of the liberation of Shanghai, the Third Field Army required military and political organs at all levels to conduct in-depth education for their subordinate units around the “Three Major Conventions and Ten Rules for Entering the City,” [10]10 The “Three Major Conventions and Ten Rules for Entering the City” (入城三大公约十项守则) were specific disciplinary guidelines issued by the Third Field Army in 1949 for troops entering Shanghai, covering conduct such as respecting private property, maintaining public order, and avoiding damage to urban infrastructure. ensuring that everyone understood and memorized them; the Shanghai Military Control Commission proposed strengthening education on common knowledge of urban life and conducting on-site education for organs and troops stationed in the city, such as observing park rules and not spitting on the ground. Conducting Party discipline education requires not only understanding the requirements of disciplinary regulations but also understanding the consequences of violating discipline, thereby promoting the enforcement of discipline and truly giving play to the role of discipline. At that time, to ensure the strict enforcement of Party discipline, the Party Central Committee not only required Party and government cadres to lead by example and play a exemplary role but also formulated a reward and punishment mechanism. While rewarding units that consciously observed discipline, it also criticized and punished those who intentionally violated discipline or refused to mend their ways despite repeated education, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of discipline education and making officers and soldiers of the troops entering the city more consciously observe Party discipline.

坚持党的纪律教育与纪律执行有机结合。香山时期，党和人民军队严格落实每次军事行动之前开展纪律教育的规定。上海解放前夕，第三野战军要求各级军政机关要围绕“入城三大公约十项守则”对所属部队开展深入教育，使人人了解、个个熟记；上海市军管会则提出要加强城市生活常识教育，并对驻扎城市的机关部队开展实地教育，如遵守公园规则、不随地吐痰等。开展党的纪律教育，不仅要了解纪律的规定要求，还要明白违反纪律要承担的后果，由此推动纪律的执行，真正发挥纪律的作用。当时，为保证党的纪律严格执行，党中央不仅要求党政干部以身作则发挥模范作用，还制定了奖惩机制，在对自觉遵守纪律的部队进行奖励的同时，也对有意违反或屡教不改者进行批评和惩罚，从而增强纪律教育的实效性，使入城部队的军官战士更加自觉遵守党的纪律。

Since the New Era, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has comprehensively strengthened Party discipline building, insisting on closely integrating discipline education and discipline enforcement to achieve mutual promotion and coordinated effort between Party discipline education and discipline enforcement. On the one hand, taking the study and implementation of the newly revised “Regulations of the Communist Party of China on Disciplinary Actions” as an opportunity, it organized a centralized discipline education for the entire Party from top to bottom, explored the establishment of a normalized and long-term mechanism for discipline education, ensured that discipline education runs through the entire cycle of cadre growth and integrates into the entire process of organizational management, strengthened the discipline awareness of all Party members, and fostered discipline consciousness. On the other hand, it strictly enforces all Party disciplines. For problems of violating Party discipline, it investigates and deals with each case as soon as it is discovered, effectively safeguarding the rigidity and seriousness of Party discipline, and promoting the internalization of Party disciplinary regulations into the political consciousness, ideological consciousness, and action consciousness of Party members and cadres.

新时代以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央全面加强党的纪律建设，坚持把纪律教育和纪律执行密切结合起来，实现党的纪律教育和纪律执行之间的互相促进、协同发力。一方面，以学习贯彻新修订的《中国共产党纪律处分条例》为契机，组织全党上下开展了一次集中性纪律教育，探索建立常态化长效化的纪律教育机制，使纪律教育贯穿干部成长全周期、融入组织管理全过程，增强了全体党员的纪律意识，养成了纪律自觉。另一方面，严格执行党的各项纪律，对于违反党的纪律的问题，发现一起坚决查处一起，切实维护党的纪律的刚性和严肃性，推动党的纪律规定内化为党员、干部的政治自觉、思想自觉、行动自觉。

(The author is a professor at the School of CPC History and Party Building, Renmin University of China)

（作者系中国人民大学中共党史党建学院教授）

Online editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧