Advancing the Party’s Self-Revolution by Improving the System for Comprehensive and Strict Governance of the Party

General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out that to deepen the Party’s self-revolution,

习近平总书记指出，深入推进党的自我革命，要“以健全全面从严治党体系为有效途径”。全面从严治党体系是由价值理念、内容结构、制度安排等若干子系统组成的有机整体，并根据价值理念调整内容结构，依据内容结构适配制度体系。目前学界对健全全面从严治党体系的研究主要集中于对其进行整体建构的实践路径方面，但对“健全全面从严治党体系为什么是推进党的自我革命的有效途径”等基本问题的理解尚未完全破题。由此，本文拟从“何为有效、何为途径、何以能推进党的自我革命”的视角对其进行深入探讨，以为更好地理解这一问题提供有益借鉴。

I. What Constitutes Effectiveness: The Organic Integration of Effect, Efficiency, Benefit, and Efficacy

一、何为有效:实现效果、效率、效益、效能的有机整合

To measure whether a system is effective, one must focus not only on its ultimate results but also on its operational speed; one must value not only its cost-benefit ratio but also its overall function. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: “Comprehensive and strict governance of the Party is the great practice of the Party’s self-revolution in the New Era.” [n1] To advance the Party’s self-revolution through the effective pathway of a sound system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party is, fundamentally, for the system itself to be effective, to truly play a role in the great practice of the Party’s self-revolution that is comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, and to provide a strong guarantee for advancing the Party’s self-revolution with new achievements in comprehensive and strict governance of the Party.

衡量一个体系是否有效，既要关注其最终结果，也要关注其运作速度;既要看重其成本收益，也要注重其整体功能。习近平总书记指出:“全面从严治党是新时代党的自我革命的伟大实践。”以健全全面从严治党体系为有效途径推进党的自我革命，从根本上讲是全面从严治党体系本身要有效，要对全面从严治党这一党的自我革命的伟大实践切实发挥作用，以全面从严治党新成效为推进党的自我革命提供坚强保障。

(1) The System for Comprehensive and Strict Governance of the Party Must Have Effect

(一)全面从严治党体系要有效果

The value and significance of the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party lie in taking the relationship between power and law as its coordinate, establishing the spirit of the rule of law and forming the authority of the legal system through the formation of the rule of law, thereby imposing constraints on the Party’s power, so that the Party’s power is truly embedded within the Party’s regulations and institutions, becoming the latent supporting force behind the legal system. The Party’s power is then carried by the systematized regulations and institutions, the Party’s rights are guaranteed, and the Party’s will is realized. This determines that the fundamental purpose of a sound system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party is to produce practical effects, and to constantly adjust its own internal structure using practical effects as the yardstick. These practical effects mainly include: First, to strengthen the Party’s overall leadership. The core function of the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party is to strengthen the Party’s overall leadership. “Comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, the core of which is to strengthen Party leadership,” [n2] requires not only implementing the Party’s will and ensuring the implementation of the Party’s line, principles, and policies through a sound system, but also manifesting the spirit of the rule of law behind it through systematized operation. Second, to consolidate the joint force for governing and managing the Party. It is necessary to clarify the powers, responsibilities, and boundaries of different functions among various subjects, fields, and links in governing and managing the Party, so as to reduce friction and conflict between them, ensure the precise articulation of various systems for governing and managing the Party and the orderly operation of various fields, accumulate joint force through functional complementarity and alignment in direction and frequency, and avoid problems such as mutual buck-passing and institutional idling caused by unclear responsibilities. Third, to ensure the Party’s long-term governance. The Party must, in the process of always turning its blade inward, be seamless and leave no死角 [n3], truly achieving comprehensive, thorough, and strict governance and management of the Party, giving full play to the role of institutions, fundamentally and permanently solving the unique problems of a large party, and through concrete actions “forcefully countering the ‘encirclement and corrosion’ by all interest groups, power blocs, and privileged strata,” [n4] breaking down the barriers of solidified interests, and truly building the Party into a long-term governing Marxist party.

全面从严治党体系的价值意义在于以权与法的关系为坐标，通过法治的形成，树立法治精神、形成法制权威，构成对党的权力的制约，使党的权力真正寓于党的法规和制度之中，成为法制背后的潜在支撑力量，并由体系化的法规制度来承载党的权力，保障党的权利，实现党的意志。这决定了健全全面从严治党体系的根本目的在于能够发挥实际的效果，并时刻以实际效果为标尺来不断调整自身的内在结构。这些实际效果主要包括:一是要加强党的全面领导。全面从严治党体系的核心功能是加强党的全面领导，“全面从严治党，核心是加强党的领导”，不仅要通过体系的健全来贯彻党的意志，保证党的路线、方针、政策的落实，更要通过体系化的运作彰显其背后蕴含着的法治精神。二是要凝聚管党治党合力。要明确管党治党各主体、各领域、各环节不同职能的权责和边界，以减少相互之间的抵牾和冲突，使管党治党各项制度精巧衔接、各领域有序运转，在功能互补、同向同频中聚积合力，避免出现因职责不清造成的相互推诿扯皮和制度空转等问题。三是要确保党的长期执政。要使党在始终坚持刀刃向内的过程中严丝合缝、不留死角，做到真正全面彻底从严管党治党，充分发挥制度的作用，从根本、长远上解决大党独有难题，从切实的行动中“有力回击一切利益集团、权势团体、特权阶层的‘围猎’腐蚀”，打破利益固化藩篱，真正把党建设成为长期执政的马克思主义政党。

(2) The System for Comprehensive and Strict Governance of the Party Should Be More Efficient

(二)全面从严治党体系应更效率

As a systematized innovation of comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, a major difference between the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party and previous governance and management of the Party lies in the interconnected articulation of the system. A very important purpose of achieving such systematized interconnected articulation is to improve the efficiency of comprehensive and strict governance of the Party. Only by improving the efficiency of governing and managing the Party can the creativity of systematized governance and management of the Party be truly demonstrated. Improving the efficiency of comprehensive and strict governance of the Party is mainly reflected in: First, the speed of achieving results must be fast. Problems must be discovered in a timely manner, accurately grasped, properly handled, and solved. It is necessary not only to concentrate on solving the urgent, difficult, and anxious problems of the people, but also to dare to touch upon deep-seated, long-term, and historically accumulated issues. For some stubborn and chronic diseases existing in the process of governing and managing the Party, extraordinary measures must be taken, deepening the simultaneous treatment of symptoms and root causes, systematic governance, “prescribing the right medicine, precise treatment, and multiple measures simultaneously, so that recurring old problems gradually decrease and newly emerging problems are difficult to spread,” [n5] promoting the normalization, long-term effectiveness, and institutionalization of problem-solving. Second, the quality of the effect must be high. Qualitative requirements must be reflected in quantitative accumulation, and quantitative accumulation must be valued with quality as the standard. It is necessary not only to make the people truly feel the existence and strength of the Party organization through solving problems in real life, and truly find their sense of belonging, but also to take solving practical problems as the internal driving force, constantly overcoming the shortcomings of the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, so that the political practice of intra-Party democracy promoting people’s democracy is both operable and has a clear sense of direction.

全面从严治党体系作为全面从严治党的体系化创新，相对于之前管党治党的一个很大区别在于体系的联动衔接。之所以要实现体系化的联动衔接，一个很重要的目的就在于要提高全面从严治党的效率，只有提高管党治党的效率，才能真正彰显体系化管党治党的创造力。提高全面从严治党的效率主要体现为:一是见效速度要快。要及时发现问题，准确把握问题，妥善处理和解决问题，不仅要集中解决人民群众急难愁盼的问题，而且还要敢于触及深层、长远和历史遗留问题，对管党治党过程中存在的一些顽瘴痼疾要采取非常手段，深化标本兼治、系统施治，“对症下药、精准施治、多措并举，让反复发作的老问题逐渐减少，让新出现的问题难以蔓延”，推动问题治理的常态化、长效化、制度化。二是效果质量要高。既要在量的积累中体现质的要求，又要以质为标准重视量的积累，不仅要在解决现实生活的问题中使人民群众真正感受到党组织的存在和力量，真正找到自己的归属感，而且还要以解决现实问题为内在动力，不断克服全面从严治党体系的弊端，使党内民主推动人民民主的政治实践既具有可操作性，又具有明确的方向感。

(3) The System for Comprehensive and Strict Governance of the Party Should Have Benefit

(三)全面从严治党体系应具效益

From an economic perspective, the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party involves the issue of operational costs, with a comparative relationship between cost input and benefit output. If the cost of comprehensive and strict governance of the Party exceeds the benefits, it will cause a waste of resources and affect the Party’s governing legitimacy. To sound the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, first, attention must be paid to cost input. Ineffective input, duplicate input, and excessive input of costs for governing and managing the Party must be avoided, especially avoiding damage to the fundamental interests of the people caused by formalism and bureaucracy, as well as image projects, performance projects, and face projects that waste money and resources regardless of cost, and even corruption that wastes the Party’s economic and political resources. Second, attention must be paid to performance output. The benefit of governing and managing the Party is not only an economic consideration but also a watershed for distinguishing whether it truly establishes the Party for the public good and exercises power for the people. Historically, all non-people’s political powers have plundered and squandered the people’s hard-earned wealth and shown no concern for the people’s livelihood. Therefore, only by truly achieving clean and low-cost governance in the process of exercising power can the people truly feel the effectiveness of governing and managing the Party, and the effectiveness of governing and managing the Party can truly be seen by the people and used for the people.

从经济学角度看，全面从严治党体系涉及运行成本的问题，存在成本投入和效益产出的比较关系，如果全面从严治党的成本超过了收益，就会造成资源的浪费，影响党的执政认同。健全全面从严治党体系，一要重视成本投入。避免出现管党治党成本的无效投入、重复投入和过度投入，尤其是要避免形式主义、官僚主义等造成的对人民根本利益的损害，以及不计成本、不惜代价搞劳民伤财的形象工程、政绩工程、面子工程，甚至贪污腐败等对党的经济和政治等资源造成的浪费。二要重视绩效产出。管党治党的效益既是一种经济学意义的考量，更是区分其是否真正立党为公、执政为民的分水岭。历史上一切非人民性的政权都是大肆搜刮和耗费民脂民膏、不体恤民生民情的。因此，只有在执政过程中真正做到廉洁、廉价，才能切实使人民群众感受到管党治党的成效，使管党治党的成效真正见之于民、用之于民。

(4) The System for Comprehensive and Strict Governance of the Party Must Have Efficacy

(四)全面从严治党体系要有效能

The system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party possesses the integration of efficacy. This integration, as an overall resultant force, is built on the foundation of achieving good effect, high efficiency, and large benefit simultaneously. Only when all three are realized can the overall efficacy of the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party be truly strengthened. Specifically, it is mainly reflected in: First, giving full play to the role of institutions, unifying the governance and management of the Party with the governance of the state. On the one hand, under the goal of building a law-based state, the Party must strengthen its own rule-of-law construction, achieving its own rule of law through a complete institutional system and effective operational mechanisms. On the other hand, the development direction and quality of the Party’s own rule-of-law construction play a leading, exemplary, and driving role in the country’s rule-of-law construction. The healthy development of a law-based state also provides an important political environment and practical foundation for the Party’s own rule-of-law construction. Second, giving full play to the role of culture, unifying tangible constraints with inner spirit. The value of the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party lies not only in its tangible institutional provisions but also in the spirit and culture contained within them. Tangible institutions are the skeleton, while intangible spirit and culture are the soul and blood. It is precisely because of the intangible spiritual and cultural forces that the institutional provisions of the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party can be activated into an external mode of behavior. Third, giving full play to the synergistic role, unifying means and ends. The system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party has both value connotations, process functions, and the significance of means. Its purpose is, in realizing the unity of its own value, function, and means, to truly “highly unify strict management and supervision with encouraging responsibility and action, thereby forging stronger leadership strength and凝聚 [n6] broader forces for struggle.” [n7] Only by unifying its means and ends, functions and values, and giving full play to the overall synergistic role can its own efficacy be continuously enhanced.

全面从严治党体系具有效能的集成性，这一集成性作为一种整体的合力，建立在既要效果好、又要效率高、还要效益大的基础上，只有三者都能实现，才能真正强化全面从严治党体系的整体效能。具体而言主要体现为:一要充分发挥制度的作用，将管党治党与治国理政相统一。一方面，在法治国家建设的目标下，党必须加强自身的法治建设，通过完备的制度体系和有效的运作机制，实现党自身的法治化;另一方面，党自身法治化建设的发展方向和质量对国家的法治化建设发挥引领、示范和推动作用，法治国家的健康发展，也为党自身的法治化建设提供重要的政治环境和实践基础。二要充分发挥文化的作用，将有形约束与内在精神相统一。全面从严治党体系的价值不仅仅在于其有形的制度规定，还在于蕴涵其中的精神和文化，有形制度是骨骼，无形精神文化是灵魂和血液，正是因为无形的精神和文化力量，才得以将全面从严治党体系的制度条文活化为一种外在的行为方式。三要充分发挥协同作用，将手段与目的相统一。全面从严治党体系既有价值的内涵，也有过程的功能，还有手段的意义，其目的是在实现自身价值、功能、手段的统一中，真正“把从严管理监督和鼓励担当作为高度统一起来，从而锻造更为坚强的领导力量，凝聚更为广泛的奋斗力量”，只有将其手段和目的、功能和价值相统一，充分发挥整体协同作用，才能不断增强其自身效能。

II. What Constitutes the Pathway: The Dialectical Unity of History, Theory, and Practice in the Development of the Times

二、何为途径:历史、理论、实践在时代发展中的辩证统一

The formation of genuinely effective pathways requires both historical distillation and theoretical elevation; it must be continuously verified by current practice and remain open to the development of the times. Taking the improvement of the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party as an effective pathway draws on the summation of historical experience and forms its own theoretical construction; it needs to be forged and tested in practice, and further improved and perfected amid the evolution of the times.

切实有效的途径的形成，既要有历史的凝练，又要有理论的提升;既要经受当下实践的不断确证，又要面向时代的发展而敞开自身。以健全全面从严治党体系为有效途径，既来自历史经验的总结，又形成了自身的理论建构，既需要在实践中进行锻造和接受检验，还需要在时代发展中进一步健全和完善。

(I) The Historical Evolution of the System for Comprehensive and Strict Governance of the Party

(一)全面从严治党体系的历史演进

Although the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party was first proposed in the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC, the practice of strict governance of the Party has run through the more than one hundred years of Party building, constantly exploring what content and structure it should contain in order to better fulfill the function of governing the Party. Over the past century, the governance of the Party has progressed from general strictness to comprehensive strictness, and then to systematic strictness, reflecting the Party’s deepening understanding of the laws governing its own construction. During the period of the New Democratic Revolution, Mao Zedong proposed that Party building was a “great project,” pointing out the need to combine ideological Party building with organizational Party building, emphasizing that Party discipline and rules must be strictly observed, that no factions were allowed within the Party, that Party spirit education should be placed first in all education, that democratic oversight channels should be broadened, that the work style threshold should be strictly enforced, that leading cadres should set an example, and that corruption should be severely punished. A relatively mature oversight system was initially formed, along with a series of rules and regulations suited to the actual conditions of the time, always adhering to strict governance of the Party. This shows that from the very beginning of its founding, the Party treated Party building as a systematic project. During the period of socialist revolution and construction, governance of the Party became stricter. Mao Zedong emphasized the need to guard against the bourgeoisie’s sugar-coated bullets and launched the “Three-Anti Campaign” [8]8 The “Three-Anti Campaign” (1951–1952) was a movement against corruption, waste, and bureaucracy within the Party and government, launched by Mao Zedong. to purge corrupt and degenerate elements from the Party’s cadre ranks. In the new period of reform and opening up and socialist modernization, “strict governance of the Party” became the basic policy and fundamental principle for strengthening Party building. Deng Xiaoping integrated the idea of governing the Party through institutions into the overall layout of Party building and introduced new norms for inner-Party political life in the form of intra-Party regulations. Jiang Zemin summed up the historical experience of the Party governing itself and governing it strictly, made the important judgment of advancing the “new great project of Party building,” and proposed the “Three Represents” [9]9 The “Three Represents” is a guiding theory proposed by Jiang Zemin, stating that the Party must always represent the development trend of China’s advanced productive forces, the orientation of China’s advanced culture, and the fundamental interests of the broadest majority of the Chinese people. as the overall goal and program for Party building. Hu Jintao’s discussions on strengthening the Party’s governance capacity and enhancing the Party’s advanced nature and integrity further enriched the theory and practice of strict governance. In the New Era of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core proposed “comprehensive and strict governance of the Party” and achieved a series of historic accomplishments. While being incorporated into the Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy, comprehensive and strict governance of the Party gradually formed its own system. This system is the result of “abstracting” from the development of the practice of comprehensive and strict governance; it is not that the practice of comprehensive and strict governance must adapt to this system, but rather that this system can only be correctly revealed when it meets the practical requirements of comprehensive and strict governance.

尽管全面从严治党体系在党的二十大报告中首次提出，但从严管党治党的实践始终贯穿于党的建设百余年历史，始终都在为如何更好地发挥管党治党的功能作用探索自身到底应该包含哪些内容和结构。百余年来，管党治党从一般从严到全面从严，再到体系从严，体现着我们党对自身建设规律认识的不断深化。新民主主义革命时期，毛泽东就提出党的建设是“伟大的工程”，指出要坚持把思想建党和组织建党结合起来，强调必须严格遵守党的纪律规矩，不允许党内有派别存在，把党性教育放在全部教育的第一位，拓宽民主监督渠道，严把作风关，领导干部以身作则，严厉惩治腐败等，并初步形成了一套比较成熟的监督体制，建立了一系列符合当时实际的规章制度，始终坚持从严管党治党。这表明，从建党伊始我们党就把党的建设作为一个系统性工程。社会主义革命和建设时期，管党治党进一步从严，毛泽东强调要警惕资产阶级的糖衣炮弹，并开展了“三反”运动，清除党的干部队伍中的腐败变质分子等。改革开放和社会主义现代化建设新时期，“从严治党”成为加强党的建设的基本方针和根本原则，邓小平将制度治党的思想融入党的建设整体布局中，并以党内法规的形式对党内政治生活提出了新的规范;江泽民总结党要管党、从严治党的历史经验，作出了推进“党的建设新的伟大工程”的重要论断，并提出了“三个代表”这一党的建设的总目标、总纲领等;胡锦涛关于加强党的执政能力建设，以及加强党的先进性和纯洁性建设等的论述，进一步丰富了从严治党的理论和实践。中国特色社会主义新时代，以习近平同志为核心的党中央提出“全面从严治党”，并取得一系列历史性成就，全面从严治党在被纳入“四个全面”战略布局的同时，也逐渐形成自身的体系。这一体系是全面从严治党实践发展“抽象出来”的结果，不是全面从严治党的实践要去适应这一体系，而是这一体系只有在符合全面从严治党实践要求的情况才能够被正确揭示出来。

(II) The Theoretical Construction of the System for Comprehensive and Strict Governance of the Party

(二)全面从严治党体系的理论建构

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, we have unswervingly advanced comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, achieving a series of theoretical, practical, and institutional innovations, constructing a system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, and opening up a new realm for the self-revolution of a century-old major party.” This system derives its authority from the completeness of its form and the soundness of its content, and exhibits internal structural characteristics of crisscrossing vertical and horizontal dimensions, as well as the combination of static and dynamic elements. Specifically, this is mainly reflected in the following:

习近平总书记指出:“党的十八大以来，我们坚定不移推进全面从严治党，取得一系列理论创新、实践创新、制度创新成果，构建起全面从严治党体系，开辟了百年大党自我革命新境界。”这一体系因形式上的完整和内容上的健全而具有权威，并呈现出纵横交错、动静结合的内在结构特征。具体而言主要体现为:

First, the vertical institutional framework is clearly layered. The Party Constitution serves as the fundamental institution, democratic centralism as the core institution, intra-Party regulations as the basic institutions, and institutions with special functions as the specific institutions. Second, the six horizontal major areas are coordinated and interconnected. The institutional system runs horizontally through the six major areas of Party building. The area of political Party building mainly includes the construction of the Party’s leadership system and the practice of the Two Upholds. The area of ideological Party building mainly includes strengthening the Party through theory, and the innovation and systematization of the Party’s ideological theory. The area of organizational Party building mainly includes the selection, training, assessment, and evaluation of Party cadres, and the tightening of the Party’s organizational system. The area of work style Party building mainly includes the construction of the Party’s fine work style and the construction of the personal work and life style of leading Party cadres. The area of discipline Party building mainly includes the investigation and accountability for disciplinary violations, and the construction of the Party’s disciplinary system. The area of the fight against corruption mainly includes improving the power oversight system and advancing the integrated mechanism for “not daring to be corrupt, not being able to be corrupt, and not wanting to be corrupt” [10]10 “Not daring to be corrupt, not being able to be corrupt, and not wanting to be corrupt” (三不腐) is a framework for anti-corruption: deterrence, prevention, and attitudinal transformation.. Third, the static “point-line-plane” trinity. Institutional texts serve as the basic points and carriers; the four levels of institutions serve as the lines running through; the six major areas serve as the network covering; and the realization of overall effectiveness serves as the system’s focus. Fourth, the dynamic “establishment-implementation-revision” three-link chain. The “establishment” link ensures the supply of institutions; the “implementation” link ensures the effective operation of institutions; the “revision” link realizes the metabolism of institutions; and the “establishment-implementation-revision” three-link chain forms a closed loop of the system.

一是纵向制度架构层次分明。以党章为根本制度，以民主集中制为核心制度，以党内法规为基本制度，以具有特殊功能的制度为具体制度。二是横向六大领域协调贯通。以制度体系横向贯穿党的六大建设领域，党的政治建设领域主要包括党的领导制度体系建设，践行“两个维护”等;党的思想建设领域主要包括理论强党，党的思想理论创新及其体系化等;党的组织建设领域主要包括党员干部选拔培养和考核评价，严密党的组织体系等;党的作风建设领域主要包括党的优良作风建设，党员领导干部个人工作和生活作风建设等;党的纪律建设领域主要包括违纪行为的查处问责，党的纪律体系建设等;反腐败斗争领域主要包括健全权力监督体系，一体推进“三不腐”体制机制等。三是静态“点-线-面”三位一体。以制度文本为基点和载体，以四个层次的制度为条线贯穿，以六大领域为网面覆盖，以实现整体效能为体系聚焦。四是动态“立-行-改”三节一环。以“立”的环节确保制度的供给，以“行”的环节确保制度有效运行，以“改”的环节实现制度的新陈代谢，以“立-行-改”三节一环形成体系的闭环链条。

(III) The Practical Forging of the System for Comprehensive and Strict Governance of the Party

(三)全面从严治党体系的实践锻造

The construction of the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party emphasizes the system but does not blindly worship it; it requires facing practice and being forged and tested in practice. Specifically, first, the internal structure of the system must be forged in practice, combining hierarchical structure with recursive structure to shape a composite structure that is conducive both to leveraging the advantages of concentration and to decomposing and independently solving problems at each level. In the course of practical development, new technological means such as AI, big data analysis, and natural language processing (NLP) should be used to empower the system, constructing a data-driven, intelligent modern model for governing the Party, so as to continuously adjust the overall structure and enhance the system’s ability to discover and solve practical problems. Second, the institutional resilience of the system must be forged in practice, using institutional resilience to strengthen the system’s adaptive function. On the one hand, the soft advantages of culture should be fully utilized, using institutional culture to influence people and institutional spirit to inspire people, transforming institutions from external coercive constraints to internal voluntary compliance. On the other hand, the operational mode of the system must be forged, constructing a closed-loop chain system of full-process responsibility. Based on responsibility lists, problems should be promptly addressed at an early stage, with a focus on shifting from supervision and accountability to early warning and reminder. Third, the implementation vitality of the system must be forged in practice. In the implementation process, both a results-oriented and a process-oriented approach should be combined to achieve the coordinated operation and deep integration of horizontal institutional mechanisms. At the same time, responsibility to superiors and responsibility to subordinates should be combined to achieve mutual checks and coordinated promotion of vertical institutional mechanisms. Only by being forged and tested in practice can the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party truly take root in practice, preventing it from moving toward alienation due to excessive subordination to form and the gradual loss of inner thought and human agency in its operation.

全面从严治党体系的构建强调体系但不盲目迷信体系，它要求必须面向实践并在实践中经受锻造和检验。具体而言，一是要在实践中锻造体系的内部结构，将层级结构与递归结构相结合，塑造既利于发挥集中优势功能又便于层层分解问题和独立解决问题的复合型结构，并在实践发展中运用AI、大数据分析和自然语言处理(NLP)等新的技术手段赋能，构建数据化、智能化的现代管党治党模式，以不断调整整体结构，提高全面从严治党体系发现和解决实际问题的能力。二是要在实践中锻造体系的制度韧性，以制度韧性增强体系的适应功能。一方面要充分发挥文化的软性优势，用制度文化感染人，用制度精神感召人，使制度由外在强制约束向内在自觉遵守转变;另一方面要锻造体系的运作方式，构建全过程责任闭环链条体系，依据责任清单，及时抓早抓小，着重推动监督问责向预警提醒转变。三是要在实践中锻造体系的执行活力，在执行过程中既坚持结果导向与过程导向相结合，实现横向体制机制的配套运行和深度交融，又坚持对上负责与对下负责相结合，实现纵向体制机制的相互制约和协调推动。只有在实践中接受锻造和检验，才能使全面从严治党体系真正植根于实践，防止其在运作中走向因过度服从于形式而逐渐失去内在思想和人的异化。

(IV) The Requirements of the Times for Improving the System for Comprehensive and Strict Governance of the Party

(四)健全全面从严治党体系的时代要求

Only when history, theory and practice are profoundly unified in the development of the times can they truly grasp the pulse of the times, display the vitality of the times, and grasp the trends and currents of the times. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: “Prominent problems such as impurity in ideology, organization and style within the Party have not yet been fundamentally resolved; the situation in the fight against corruption remains grave and complex; and new situations and new problems are constantly emerging. The ‘Four Tests’[11]11 The “Four Tests” (四大考验) refer to the tests of governance, reform and opening up, the market economy, and the external environment, which the CPC identifies as ongoing challenges to its rule. and the ‘Four Dangers’[12]12 The “Four Dangers” (四种危险) refer to the dangers of mental slackness, incompetence, disengagement from the people, and corruption, which the CPC sees as persistent internal threats. facing the Party will exist for a long time.” To further advance Party building, we must take these problems as breakthroughs, fully apply systematic thinking and scientific methods to promote comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, adhere to taking the Party’s political construction as the guide, exert comprehensive force in all aspects of Party building in the same direction, take institutions as an important lever, continuously perfect the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, and, with a closely linked and interlocking model of systematic governance, methodically deepen the Party’s self-revolution as a whole. Specifically, this mainly includes: First, we must perfect the vertical institutional system. To begin with, we must establish a scientific, complete, effective and usable institutional system, strengthen the systematic integration of institutions, and weave the cage of institutions tightly in all directions. Next, we must continuously deepen the reform and construction of the intra-Party regulations system; while doing a good job of top-level design, we must also face practical needs, promptly elevate experience and practices recognized by the whole Party into institutions, and effectively strengthen the implementation mechanisms of institutions, promoting the in-depth development of comprehensive and strict governance of the Party along the track of regulations and institutions.

历史、理论与实践只有深刻统一于时代的发展中，才能真正切中时代的脉搏、展现时代的活力、把握时代的潮流与趋势。习近平总书记指出:“党内存在的思想不纯、组织不纯、作风不纯等突出问题尚未得到根本解决，反腐败斗争形势依然严峻复杂，而且新情况新问题不断涌现，党面临的‘四大考验’、‘四种危险’将长期存在。”进一步推进党的建设，要以这些问题为突破口，充分运用系统思维和科学方法推进全面从严治党，坚持以党的政治建设为统领，党的各项建设同向综合发力，将制度作为重要抓手，不断健全全面从严治党体系，以紧密链接、环环相扣的体系化治理模式，有条不紊地把党的自我革命从整体上引向深入。具体而言主要包括:一是要完善纵向制度体系。首先，要健全科学完备、有效管用的制度体系，加强制度的系统集成，全方位织密制度的笼子。其次，要不断深化党内法规制度建设改革，在做好顶层设计的同时，还要面向实践需要，及时将全党都认同的经验做法上升为制度，并且切实强化制度的落实机制，推动全面从严治党在法规制度轨道上向纵深发展。

Second, we must systematically plan the horizontal layout. In the Party’s political construction, we must perfect the Party’s leadership institutional system that commands the overall situation and coordinates all parties, improve the implementation mechanism for major decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee, strengthen the political responsibility for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, and “always adhere to a strict tone, strict measures, and a strict atmosphere.” In the Party’s ideological construction, we must perfect the education system that consolidates the foundation, nourishes the root, gathers hearts and molds the soul, “unremittingly arm the whole Party with the Party’s innovative theories, educate and guide the vast number of Party members and cadres to deepen and transform [their understanding], drawing from them the ideological nourishment that contains firm ideals and convictions, strengthens Party spirit training, and elevates spiritual realm and moral standards.” In the Party’s organizational construction, we must perfect the organizational system that connects the upper and lower levels and ensures strong execution, forming a work pattern based on grasping the grassroots level with orderly interaction between levels, and promoting the all-round excellence of Party organizations; we must explore and innovate the establishment and working methods of Party organizations in new economic organizations, new social organizations, and new employment groups; we must strengthen the use of the internet and new technological means to achieve full coverage of Party organizations both online and offline. In the Party’s conduct construction and Party discipline construction, we must perfect the normalization mechanism for rectifying conduct and enforcing discipline, adhere to grasping Party spirit, Party conduct and Party discipline together, unremittingly uphold the Eight-Point Regulations[13]13 The Eight-Point Regulations (八项规定) are a set of rules adopted by the CPC Central Committee in 2012 to curb extravagance, bureaucracy and formalism among Party officials. — the Party’s act of “moving a log to win trust”[14]14 “Moving a log to win trust” (徙木立信) is a classical allusion to Shang Yang’s reforms in the State of Qin (4th century BCE), where a log was moved to demonstrate the credibility of new laws; here it is used to describe the Eight-Point Regulations as a symbolic act to build public trust. in the New Era — and place the rectification of stubborn and deep-seated problems of formalism and bureaucracy in a more prominent position. In the integrated advancement of the fight against corruption, we must perfect the supervision system that exerts precise force and addresses both symptoms and root causes, perfect the supervision system under the unified leadership of the Party that is comprehensive in coverage, authoritative and efficient, and promote the concretization, precision and normalization of political supervision, “effectively integrate intra-Party supervision with state organ supervision, democratic supervision, judicial supervision, public supervision, and public opinion supervision, achieving a benign interaction and mutual reinforcement between self-discipline and heteronomy.” At the same time, we must also “deeply promote the simultaneous investigation and treatment of misconduct and corruption,” leaving no place for privilege phenomena and corruption problems to hide.

二是要系统谋划横向布局。党的政治建设上要健全总揽全局、协调各方的党的领导制度体系，完善党中央重大决策部署落实机制，强化全面从严治党政治责任，“始终坚持严的基调、严的措施、严的氛围”。党的思想建设上要健全固本培元、凝心铸魂的教育体系，“坚持不懈用党的创新理论武装全党，教育引导广大党员、干部在深化转化上下功夫，汲取其中蕴含的坚定理想信念、加强党性锻炼、提升精神境界和道德水平等思想营养”。党的组织建设上要健全上下贯通、执行有力的组织体系，形成以抓基层为基础、层级之间有序互动的工作格局，推动党组织全面过硬;要探索创新党组织在新经济组织、新社会组织和新就业群体中的设置和工作方式;要加强运用网络和新技术手段，实现党组织线下线上全覆盖。党的作风建设和党的纪律建设上要健全正风肃纪常态化机制，坚持党性党风党纪一起抓，常抓不懈中央八项规定这一党在新时代的徙木立信之举，把纠治形式主义、官僚主义顽瘴痼疾摆在更加突出的位置。一体推进反腐败斗争中要健全精准发力、标本兼治的监管体系，健全党统一领导、全面覆盖、权威高效的监督体系，推进政治监督具体化、精准化、常态化，“切实把党内监督同国家机关监督、民主监督、司法监督、群众监督、舆论监督贯通起来，实现自律和他律良性互动、相得益彰”。同时，还要“深入推进风腐同查同治”，让特权现象和腐败问题无所遁形。

Third, we must consolidate the multi-dimensional matrix. First, we must scientifically design the text and norms of institutions; in the intrinsic value of the text, we must adhere to the fundamental concept of putting the people first; in the symbolic presentation of the text, we must be scientific and standardized, comprehensively covering all fields, objects and links of governing the Party. Second, we must connect points into lines, closely centering on the “ox nose”[15]15 “Ox nose” (牛鼻子) is a Chinese idiom meaning the key or crucial point that controls a situation. of responsibility with the rigid characteristics of institutions, perfect the responsibility system with clear subjects and requirements, “strengthen the main responsibility and supervisory responsibility for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party,” “perfect the political responsibility system for implementing comprehensive and strict governance of the Party,” promote the vast number of Party members and leading cadres to know, assume and fulfill their responsibilities, perfect a precise and scientific accountability mechanism, promote the implementation of responsibilities for governing the Party, both preventing insufficient accountability and preventing excessive accountability, and effectively ensure that taking responsibility, guarding responsibility and fulfilling responsibility are embodied in every post. Third, we must connect lines into surfaces, making various institutions closely interwoven and run through all fields and links of Party building. Finally, we must construct them into a whole, from institutional spirit to institutional rationality, from institutional technology to institutional design, from institutional operation to institutional implementation, from institutional form to institutional culture, etc., truly making the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party interlocking, systematically complete, and forming an overall synergy.

三是要巩固多维立体矩阵。首先，要科学设计制度文本规范，在文本的内在价值上要恪守人民至上的根本理念，在文本的符号呈现上要科学规范，全面覆盖管党治党的各领域、各对象、各环节。其次，要连点成线，以制度的刚性特征紧紧围绕责任这一“牛鼻子”，健全主体明确、要求清晰的责任体系，“强化全面从严治党主体责任和监督责任”，“健全落实全面从严治党政治责任体系”，推动广大党员和领导干部知责、担责、履责，健全精准科学的问责机制，推动管党治党责任落实到位，既防止问责乏力，也防止问责泛化，切实把负责、守责、尽责体现在每个岗位上。其三，要线穿成面，使各项制度密切交织贯穿于党的建设各领域、各环节。最后，要建构成体，从制度精神到制度理性、制度技术到制度设计、制度运行到制度落实、制度形式到制度文化等，真正使全面从严治党体系做到环环相扣、系统完备，形成整体合力。

Fourth, we must strengthen the dynamic operation system. First, we must strengthen the effective supply of institutions, truly running the principles of fairness, justice and openness through the entire process of establishing institutions, perfecting the mechanisms and systems for establishing institutions in promptly and accurately responding to the people’s expectations, ensuring that institutions can reflect the unity of the Party’s will and the people’s will, and forming a closed-loop system of institutions. Second, we must strengthen the orderly operation of institutions, adhere to the principle that those above set an example for those below, give play to the leading and exemplary role of the “key minority,”[16]16 “Key minority” (关键少数) refers to leading cadres at senior levels, whose conduct is seen as decisive for setting the tone of Party governance. continuously promote the extension of comprehensive and strict governance of the Party to the grassroots level, adhere to fully implementing the inherent requirements of equality for all, fairness and justice, power restriction, harmony and stability, and the principle that law cannot yield to lawlessness, etc., in the healthy and orderly operation process of institutions, achieving the coordinated advancement of all fields of Party building with strict governance of officials and cadres, lawful exercise of power and lawful governance of power, rule-based governance of the Party and law-based governance of the country, and effectively implementing the spirit of the rule of law, regulatory order and performance principles in all aspects and the entire process of activities inside and outside the Party. Finally, we must strengthen the advancement of institutions with the times, adhere to deepening the reform of the Party building system, give full play to the important role of institutions in promoting the Party’s rule-of-law construction, and thereby leading reform, development and promoting social progress, promptly replace institutions that are unsuitable for the Party’s rule-of-law construction and incompatible with the comprehensive deepening of reform with new ones, so as to truly present the characteristics of dynamic operation and coordinated development of the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party.

四是要强化动态运行体系。首先，要强化制度的有效供给，把公平、公正、公开原则真正贯穿制度确立的全过程，在及时准确地回应人民的期盼中完善制度确立的体制机制，确保制度能够反应党的意志和人民意志的统一，形成制度的闭环体系。其次，要强化制度的有序运行，坚持以上率下，发挥“关键少数”的带头表率作用，持续推动全面从严治党向基层延伸，坚持把人人平等、公平正义、权力制约、和谐稳定，以及法不能向不法让步等内在要求全面贯彻到制度的健康有序运行过程中，实现党的建设各领域与从严治官、从严治吏，依法用权、依法治权，依规治党、依法治国的协同推进，切实把法治精神、法规秩序和绩效原则贯彻到党内外活动的各方面和全过程。最后，要强化制度的与时俱进，坚持深化党的建设制度改革，充分发挥制度促进党的法治建设，并以此引领改革发展和推动社会进步的重要作用，把不适宜党的法治建设和与全面深化改革不相适用的制度及时推陈出新，以真正呈现全面从严治党体系动态运行和协调发展的特征。

III. How It Can Advance the Party’s Self-Revolution: The Integration of Wholeness, Interconnectedness, Emergence and Adaptability

三、何以能推进党的自我革命:整体性、联动性、涌现性、适应性融会贯通

The reason a system becomes a system lies both in its advantage that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts and in the coupling and interconnection among its internal elements; both in its emergent property of self-optimization and in its adaptability for dynamic coordination with the external environment. To deeply advance the Party’s self-revolution, it is necessary in practice to grasp well the issues in nine aspects,[17]17 The “nine aspects” (九个方面的问题) refer to a framework outlined in CPC documents for advancing the Party’s self-revolution, including areas such as political direction, ideological guidance and institutional safeguards. one important aspect of which is to take perfecting the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party as an effective pathway. The reason why perfecting the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party can advance the Party’s self-revolution lies in the fact that these very characteristics of the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party are closely related to the inherent demands of the Party’s self-revolution, enabling this great practice of the Party’s self-revolution — comprehensive and strict governance of the Party — to repeatedly question from a holistic level why our Party needs self-revolution, why it can carry out self-revolution, and how to advance self-revolution, through the perfection of its own system, and to make the ideas and measures for advancing the Party’s self-revolution more rigorous through the practice of perfecting the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, making the self-revolution of various elements, links, and even various fronts more concrete and more profound.

体系之所以成为体系，既在于其具有整体大于部分之和的优势，又在于其内部各要素之间能够耦合联动;既在于其具有自我优化的涌现性，又在于其具有与外部环境动态协调的适应性。深入推进党的自我革命，在实践中需要把握好九个方面的问题，其中一个重要方面就是要以健全全面从严治党体系为有效途径。健全全面从严治党体系之所以能推进党的自我革命，就在于全面从严治党体系本身的这些特性与党的自我革命的内在诉求息息相关，使全面从严治党这一党的自我革命的伟大实践能够通过自身体系的健全，对我们党为什么要自我革命、为什么能自我革命，以及怎样推进自我革命从整体上进行深层次的一再追问，并以健全全面从严治党体系的实践推动党的自我革命的思路举措更加严密，推动各要素、各环节，乃至各条战线的自我革命更为具体、更为深入。

(A) Clarifying the Great Mission of the Party’s Self-Revolution through the Wholeness of the System

(一)以体系的整体性明晰党的自我革命的伟大使命

The system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party is not aimed at governing the Party for the mere sake of governing the Party; rather, it concerns the lifeline of the Party and the state. “The holistic nature of modern state building … determines that building a strong party must necessarily be a comprehensive and systematic ‘great project.’” [18]18 The authors are quoting a Chinese scholarly source; the specific reference is not provided in the original text. The Party’s self-revolution is likewise not aimed at revolution for the mere sake of revolution, but at leading the great social revolution, so that the Party’s self-revolution better serves and submits to the Party’s central tasks. The system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party possesses the characteristic of holism. This characteristic not only integrates it with the Party’s governance of the country and the integrated construction of a law-based state, law-based government, and law-based society, but also, in the process of advancing the Party’s self-revolution, consciously incorporates the promotion of social revolution into it. Taking the comprehensive construction of a modern socialist country as its orientation and the achievement of the complete emancipation of humanity as its pursuit is the fundamental historical mission borne by a Marxist political party. This determines that the revolutionary movement led by a Marxist political party — with ideological revolution as its precursor, political revolution as its key, economic revolution as its foundation, and social revolution as its goal — must necessarily be the broadest and deepest social transformation. Such a great social transformation is even more so a historical process carried forward by the gradual achievement of numerous stage-by-stage goals. Unifying this fundamental transformation with our Party’s practice of comprehensive and strict governance, and with the goals of Chinese-path modernization, is the inevitable requirement for our Party to fulfill its own mission and the core driving force for its self-revolution. It is precisely because the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, through its own holistic characteristic, clarifies the great mission of the Party’s self-revolution that it can continuously advance the Party’s self-revolution, and make the process of advancing the Party’s self-revolution a practical vehicle for the Party to fulfill its own fundamental mission, thereby truly achieving an organic unity between the Party’s self-revolution and the great mission of social revolution it shoulders.

全面从严治党体系不是为了单纯地治党而治党，而是关乎党和国家的命脉，“现代化国家建设的整体性……决定了强大政党建设必然是全面而系统的‘伟大工程’”。党的自我革命也不是单纯地为了革命而革命，而是为了引领伟大社会革命，使党的自我革命更好服从服务于党的中心任务。全面从严治党体系具有整体性的特征，这一特征不仅使其与党的治国理政和法治国家、法治政府、法治社会的一体化建设相结合，而且还使其在推进党的自我革命的过程中，自觉地把推动社会革命也纳入其中。以全面建设社会主义现代化国家为指向，以实现人类彻底解放为追求，是马克思主义政党所肩负的根本历史使命，这决定了马克思主义政党所领导的以思想革命为先导、以政治革命为关键、以经济革命为基础、以社会革命为目的的革命运动，必然是最广泛、最深刻的社会变革。如此伟大的社会变革，更是一个由诸多阶段性目标的逐步达成所承接起来的历史过程。把这一根本变革与我们党全面从严治党的实践统一起来，与中国式现代化建设的目标统一起来，是我们党践行自身使命的必然要求和进行自我革命的核心驱动。全面从严治党体系正是以自身的整体性特征明晰着党的自我革命的伟大使命，才使其能够不断推进党的自我革命，并使其推进党的自我革命的过程成为党践行自身根本使命的实践载体，从而使党的自我革命真正与其所肩负的社会革命的伟大使命有机统一起来。

(II) Examining the Core Connotation of the Party’s Self-Revolution through the System’s Interconnectivity

(二)以体系的联动性透视党的自我革命的核心内涵

The system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party possesses the characteristic of interconnectivity. This characteristic of interconnectivity in fact reveals the core connotation of “self-negation” [19]19 The Chinese term is 自否性 (zì fǒu xìng), a philosophical concept derived from Hegelian and Marxist dialectics, referring to the inherent capacity of a subject to negate itself as a condition for development. inherent in the Party’s self-revolution. “Self-negation” is an essential feature of dialectics. A core issue of the “self-negation” inherent in the Party’s self-revolution is to resolve, through self-sublation, self-unfolding, and self-transcendence, corruption — the greatest threat the Party faces in its own historical development. The essence of corruption is the alienation of power. The basic requirement of the Party’s self-revolution is to become conscious of this danger of power alienation itself, and, in the historical process of self-organization and self-manifestation, to historically negate and sublate this danger itself, thereby adhering to the public attribute of power and preventing power from becoming private; adhering to the instrumental attribute of power and preventing power from becoming a right; adhering to the scientific attribute of power and preventing power from becoming a political trick; adhering to the democratic attribute of power and preventing power from becoming autocratic. The interconnectivity characteristic of the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party not only organically links the internal structure of the Party’s own construction through institutions as a thread, achieving full coverage, no dead ends, and no forbidden zones in all areas and links of Party building, and integrally advancing the institutional mechanisms for deterring, preventing, and disincentivizing corruption [20]20 This refers to the integrated mechanism for deterring (不敢腐), preventing (不能腐), and disincentivizing (不想腐) corruption, a key framework in the CPC’s anti-corruption strategy.; it also organically links the life principle and historical significance of the Party from its birth, through its growth and strengthening, to the realization of its own value and the completion of its own great mission. This makes the Party’s consciousness of “self-negation” an internalized self-awareness, preventing both its own corruption and degeneration in various aspects of the current space of activity and overcoming its own corruption and degeneration at various stages of historical development, truly enabling the Party’s self-revolution to manifest as an organic and dynamic practical process.

全面从严治党体系具有联动性的特征，这一联动性特征实际上透视着党的自我革命所蕴含的“自否性”的核心内涵。“自否性”是辩证法的本质特征，党的自我革命所蕴含的“自否性”的一个核心问题，就是要在自我扬弃、自我展开、自我超越中解决腐败这个党在自身历史发展中所面临的最大威胁。腐败的本质是权力异化，党的自我革命的基本要求就是要自己意识到这种权力异化的危险，并且在自我组织、自我展现的历史过程中自己将这种危险进行历史地否定和扬弃，从而恪守权力的公共属性，防止权力变私有;恪守权力的工具属性，防止权力变权利;恪守权力的科学属性，防止权力变权术;恪守权力的民主属性，防止权力变专制。全面从严治党体系的联动性特征，不仅以制度为贯穿将党自身建设的内在结构有机联动起来，使党的建设的各领域和各环节全覆盖、无死角、无禁区，一体推进不敢腐、不能腐、不想腐的体制机制，而且将党由诞生到发展壮大，再到实现自身价值、完成自身伟大使命的生命原则和历史意蕴也有机联动起来，从而使党的“自否性”意识成为一种内在的自觉，既防止自身在当下活动空间中各方面的腐化变质，也克服自身在历史发展时间中各阶段的腐化变质，真正使党的自我革命展现为一种有机动态的实践过程。

(III) Promoting the Party’s Self-Revolution to Be More Concrete and Deeper through the System’s Emergence

(三)以体系的涌现性推动党的自我革命走实走深

Emergence is a distinctive characteristic of the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party. So-called emergence refers to the phenomenon where, when a large number of individuals gather together, interactions arise among the individuals, causing the whole to possess new attributes or new patterns completely different from those of the individuals, achieving an effect of “1+1>2.” A system with emergence is capable of self-optimization. In such a system, the single action of an individual can provide effective feedback for the next action, and a large number of actions all point toward the same clear goal. Given a sufficiently long time, a qualitative change effect like dripping water wearing through stone will occur. In other words, the actions of individuals are accumulable and can generate compound interest. As long as the overall direction is clear, and every individual acts toward this direction, the effects can accumulate, continuously forming positive feedback, causing the effect of the entire system to undergo a qualitative leap. The Party’s self-revolution is not a temporary expedient or a short-term measure, but a persistent, long-term, and unremitting process of exploration that accumulates small victories into big ones. The emergence inherent in the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party itself will, through a systematic overall operation, cause the effectiveness of the Party’s self-revolution to continuously accumulate and superimpose. This cumulative and superimposed effect will not only potentially impact the structure, form, and model of the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party itself, but will also further drive the Party’s self-revolution, enabling it to become more concrete and deeper in this process of cumulative and superimposed compound interest. “Promoting the Party’s self-revolution to be interlinked ring by ring, advancing layer by layer, and continuously achieving self-transcendence through discarding the old and establishing the new and upholding fundamental principles while breaking new ground,” [21]21 The authors are quoting a Chinese source; the specific reference is not provided in the original text. thereby truly breaking free from the constraints of the traditional historical cycle of rise and fall [22]22 This refers to the “historical cycle of rise and fall” (历史周期率), a concept famously discussed by Mao Zedong in 1945 with Huang Yanpei, concerning the tendency of ruling groups in Chinese history to become corrupt and lose power. and completing its own historical mission.

涌现性是全面从严治党体系的鲜明特征，所谓涌现指的是当大量个体汇聚在一起时，个体之间产生相互作用，从而使整体拥有完全不同于个体的新属性或新模式，实现“1+1>2”的效果。具有涌现性的体系是可以自我优化的。在这样的体系中，个体的单次行动可以为下一次行动提供有效反馈，而大量行动都指向同一个明确的目标，在时间足够长的前提下，就会产生滴水穿石般的质变效应。换言之，即个体的行动是可积累、可以形成复利的，只要整体的方向明确，每个个体都朝着这个方向行动，效果就可以积累，就可以不断地形成正向反馈，使整个体系的效果产生质的跃升。党的自我革命不是一时兴起和一朝一夕的权宜之计，而是一个持之以恒、久久为功，积小胜为大胜的不懈探索过程，全面从严治党体系本身所具有的涌现性会以一种体系化的整体运作使党的自我革命的成效不断累积叠加，这种累积叠加效应不仅会潜在地对全面从严治党体系自身的结构、形态、模式等造成影响，而且还会使得这种影响进一步推动党的自我革命，使其在这种所谓复利的累积叠加过程中不断走实走深，“推动党的自我革命环环相扣、层层递进，不断在革故鼎新、守正创新中实现自身跨越”，从而真正跳出传统意义上治乱兴衰历史周期率的束缚，完成自身的历史使命。

(IV) Ensuring the Steady Advancement of the Party’s Self-Revolution through the System’s Adaptability

(四)以体系的适应性保障党的自我革命稳步推进

The system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party also possesses the characteristic of adaptability. This characteristic derives both from the consciousness of its theoretical construction and from its openness to practice. So-called adaptability refers to the system’s ability to cope with changes in the practical situations it faces when confronted with different environments and resources. Only a system with strong adaptability can maintain its own equilibrium and stability. Since the New Era, the changes unseen in a century have accelerated their evolution. Changes in the world, changes in the times, and changes in history are continuously unfolding in new ways. The Party, which simultaneously bears the three tasks of revolution, leadership, and governance, not only faces the “Four Tests” [23]23 The “Four Tests” (四大考验) are tests of governance, reform and opening up, the market economy, and the external environment. and the “Four Dangers,” [24]24 The “Four Dangers” (四种危险) are the dangers of spiritual slackness, incompetence, disconnection from the people, and corruption. but also confronts many unknown challenges. Carrying out the Party’s self-revolution and implementing comprehensive and strict governance of the Party are important measures for our Party to build a strong political party, and also the prerequisite and foundation for our Party to strengthen its own construction to forge a tough core, calmly coping with various external tests, dangers, and challenges. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out that the situation of corruption remains severe and complex, and it is necessary to “strengthen the rapid handling of new types of corruption and hidden corruption.” [25]25 Xi Jinping, speech at the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, January 8, 2024. The system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party provides important support for our Party to be able to respond quickly under the influence of various complex factors, based on its own fundamental mission and core requirements, and to continuously carry out institutional adjustments and institutional supply based on initiative and adaptability. This ensures that the Party’s self-revolution is neither disrupted by various external factors nor obstructed by certain internal privileges, thereby possessing an institutional foundation for steady advancement. This adaptability of the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party also reflects, in a certain sense, that the Party’s self-revolution is a dynamic process of equilibrium and adjustment, continuously self-correcting to prevent our Party from committing major subversive errors.

全面从严治党体系还具有适应性的特征，这一特征既来源于其理论建构的自觉性，又来源于其面向实践的开放性。所谓适应性指的是体系在面临不同的环境和资源时，应对它所对应的实践场合变化的能力，具有强大适应性的体系才能保持自身的均衡和稳定。新时代以来，世界百年未有之大变局加速演进，世界之变、时代之变、历史之变不断以新的方式展开，集革命、领导、执政三重任务于一身的党，不仅面临着“四大考验”和“四种危险”，而且还面对着许多未知的挑战。开展党的自我革命，进行全面从严治党，是我们党建设强大政党的重要举措，也是我们党以加强自身建设来塑造强硬内核从容应对各种外部考验、危险和挑战的前提基础。习近平总书记指出，腐败的形势依然严峻复杂，要“强化对新型腐败和隐性腐败的快速处置”。全面从严治党体系为我们党能够在面对各种复杂因素的影响下，根据自身的根本使命和核心要求快速做出反应，以能动性和适应性为基础不断进行制度调整与制度供给提供了重要支撑，使党的自我革命既不至于被各种外在因素打乱节奏，也不至于被某些内在的特权所阻碍，从而拥有能够稳步推进的制度基础。全面从严治党体系的这种适应性也从一定意义上反映出，党的自我革命是一个为了防止我们党犯重大颠覆性错误而不断进行自我纠正的动态平衡与调适过程。

Conclusion

结语

Improving the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party is an important manifestation of using modernized Party governance to advance Chinese-path modernization, and it is also an important means of using the Party’s self-revolution to propel social revolution. Taking the improvement of the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party as an effective pathway to advance the Party’s self-revolution — the most fundamental issue is to resolve how to better exercise the Party’s power in the process of transforming theory into practice. Taking the improvement of the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party as an effective pathway to advance the Party’s self-revolution — strengthening the supervision and restraint of governing power so that governing power truly becomes, within the track of the rule of law, a capacity to lead, unite, and inspire the people of the whole country to undertake undertakings and create achievements — this is a firm response and a powerful practice, based on the historical experience of communist parties governing in socialist countries, aimed at building the world’s strongest Marxist political party. “It is not easy for a Marxist political party to seize political power, and it is even less easy to consolidate it.” [26]26 A quotation from Xi Jinping, originally from his speech at the celebration of the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party (1 July 2016). The Chinese Communist Party’s assumption of power is both a choice of history and the people, and also the result of our Party’s own efforts. Only by taking the improvement of the system for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party as an effective pathway to advance the Party’s self-revolution can questions such as for whom to govern, on whom to rely in governing, and how to govern, as well as the derivative questions of how to prevent power that belongs to the people from escaping the people’s control and how to guard against the corruption and erosion of the Party’s body by the power the people have entrusted to the Party, be truly brought into the track of the rule of law. Only by continuously interrogating these questions through the restraint and standardized operation of the rule of law can the Party, with a practical self-awareness of fulfilling its commitments, advance the cause of the people and truly manifest the people-oriented nature of our Party’s governance.

健全全面从严治党体系是以现代化政党治理推动中国式现代化的重要体现，也是以党的自我革命推进社会革命的重要手段。以健全全面从严治党体系为有效途径推进党的自我革命，最根本的是要解决在将理论转化为实践的过程中如何更好地运用党的权力的问题。以健全全面从严治党体系为有效途径推进党的自我革命，强化对执政权力的监督制约，使执政权力在法治的轨道内真正成为带领、团结、鼓舞全国人民干事创业的能力，是基于社会主义国家共产党执政的历史经验而对建设世界上最强大的马克思主义政党作出的坚定回应和有力实践。“马克思主义政党夺取政权不容易，巩固政权更不容易。”中国共产党执政既是历史和人民的选择，也是我们党自身努力的结果。只有以健全全面从严治党体系为有效途径推进党的自我革命，才能将为谁执政、靠谁执政、怎样执政等问题，以及由此而衍生的如何防止属于人民的权力不受人民控制、如何防范人民赋予党的权力对党的肌体造成腐化侵蚀等问题真正纳入法治的轨道，并以法治的约束和规范运作不断对这些问题进行追问，使其以一种履行承诺的实践自觉推动人民事业的发展，真正彰显我们党执政的人民性本质。