From Yan’an to Xibaipo: The Chinese Communists’ Important Exploration of Establishing a Correct Outlook on Political Performance

The period from the Yan’an period to the Xibaipo period was a crucial stage in which the Chinese Communist Party led the Chinese revolution from partial victory to nationwide victory. Under the special historical conditions of extreme material scarcity, an exceptionally harsh environment, and extraordinarily severe struggle, our Party tempered and adhered to a correct outlook on political performance, consistently stood firm on the people’s standpoint, abided by the original aspiration of serving the people, forever maintained the political character of clean and honest governance, and upheld the fine tradition of arduous struggle, thereby laying a solid foundation for seizing the final victory of the New Democratic Revolution and embarking on the great journey of building a new China.

从延安时期到西柏坡时期，是中国共产党领导中国革命从局部胜利走向全国胜利的关键阶段。在物资极度匮乏、环境异常艰苦、斗争异常严峻的特殊历史条件下，我们党淬炼并坚守正确政绩观，始终站稳人民立场、恪守为民初心，永葆清正廉洁的政治本色，秉持艰苦奋斗的优良作风，为夺取新民主主义革命最终胜利、开启新中国建设伟大征程奠定了坚实基础。

I

一

The Yan’an period coincided with the war-torn years of raging conflict. To support the military and civilians of the border region on the extremely barren Loess Plateau and win the support of the masses was fraught with difficulties. It was precisely under this extreme pressure that the Chinese Communists adhered to the principle of “seeing only public servants, not officials,” forging a correct outlook on political performance—arduous struggle, clean and honest dedication to public duty, and a people-centered approach—into a firm political conviction. Mao Zedong explicitly stated: “In the border region, in the absence of war, the direct tasks are production and education.” [1]1 The Three Great Campaigns (三大战役) refer to the Liaoshen, Huaihai, and Pingjin campaigns (1948-1949), the decisive military engagements of the Chinese Civil War that secured Communist control of northern and central China. This policy embodied the Communists’ attitude of seeking truth from facts: not engaging in boasting or superficiality, but acting within their capabilities and struggling arduously. Mao Zedong dug the ground and planted vegetables together with the masses in Yangjialing; his food allowance was the same as that of ordinary staff, and often by the end of the month there was no money left to buy food. Zhu De formed a production team with his guards and reclaimed over three mu of land in Wangjiaping to grow vegetables. These actions moved the visiting American journalist Edgar Snow, who sincerely remarked, “From the highest commander to the ordinary soldier, they eat and dress the same” (Red Star Over China, People’s Literature Publishing House, 2016 edition, p. 267). In May 1940, Tan Kah Kee, at Mao Zedong’s invitation, visited Yan’an and conducted an on-the-spot investigation of the social conditions, political atmosphere, and the life of the military and civilians in the border region. He deeply felt the good atmosphere of equality between the military and the people, simple living, and arduous struggle. Shortly before this, he had just witnessed the extravagance and corruption of the Kuomintang government in Chongqing, which made him see the essential difference between the two parties, leading him to conclude that “China’s hope lies in Yan’an.” After visiting Yan’an in 1945, Huang Yanpei similarly deeply felt the precious spirit of the Chinese Communists: “Constantly striving for improvement, constantly demanding progress—if this spirit is fully brought into play, the future prospects are limitless” (Li Zhongjie, A Comprehensive Overview of the History of the Chinese Communist Party, Volume 1, Party School of the CPC Central Committee Press, 2021 edition, p. 142).

延安时期正值烽火连天的战争岁月，要在极度贫瘠的黄土高原上养活边区军民、赢得群众拥护困难重重。正是在这种极端压力下，中国共产党人坚持“只见公仆不见官”，将艰苦奋斗、廉洁奉公、以人民为中心等正确政绩观铸成坚定的政治信仰。毛泽东明确提出：“边区在没有战争的条件下，直接的任务就是生产和教育两项。”这一方针，体现了共产党人实事求是的态度：不搞虚夸、不图表面，而是量力而行、艰苦奋斗。毛泽东与群众一起在杨家岭挖地种菜，伙食标准同普通工作人员一样，往往到了月底就没钱买菜吃。朱德与警卫员一起组成生产小组，在王家坪开垦三亩多地种植蔬菜。这些让到访的美国记者斯诺由衷感叹，“从最高级指挥员到普通士兵，吃的穿的都一样”（《红星照耀中国》，人民文学出版社2016年版，第267页）。1940年5月，陈嘉庚应毛泽东之约访问延安，实地考察了延安的社会状况、政治风气与军民生活，深刻感受到军民平等、生活朴素、艰苦奋斗的良好氛围。而此前不久，他刚在重庆目睹国民党政府的奢侈腐败，这让其看到了国共两党的本质差别，由此断定“中国的希望在延安”。黄炎培1945年访问延安后，同样深感中国共产党人的宝贵精神，“是不断地要好，不断地要求进步，这种精神充分发挥出来，前途希望是无限的”（李忠杰：《中国共产党历史通览》上册，中共中央党校出版社2021年版，第142页）。

When summarizing the fresh political ecology of the Yan’an period characterized by “ten absences,” Mao Zedong explicitly pointed out: In Yan’an, “first, there are no corrupt officials; second, there are no local bullies and evil gentry… seventh, there are no people who form cliques for private gain; eighth, there is no spirit of listlessness and decline; ninth, there are no people who live off friction; tenth, there are no people who make a fortune out of the national calamity” (Selected Works of Mao Zedong, Vol. 2, People’s Publishing House, 1991 edition, p. 718). This image of clean politics was a vivid portrayal of the Communists’ integrity, honesty, and single-minded devotion to the public interest. During the Yan’an period, the Border Region Government implemented a minimum allowance system: a Kuomintang county magistrate received a monthly salary of 180 yuan, while a Border Region county magistrate received a monthly allowance of only 2.5 yuan, and even the Chairman of the Border Region Government had a monthly allowance of only 5 yuan. As Mao Zedong exclaimed: “Who can be content with a monthly salary of only five yuan? Who can create such clean politics?” (Selected Works of Mao Zedong, Vol. 2, p. 718). This reflected the profound political consciousness of the Chinese Communists: Party members and cadres wielding power must deeply understand the principle that “one who receives much should not take small things,” [2]2 Li Zicheng (1606-1645) was a rebel leader who overthrew the Ming dynasty in 1644 but whose forces were quickly defeated by the invading Manchu Qing; his failure is traditionally attributed to corruption and loss of discipline after entering Beijing. and must not only cognitively grasp the importance of integrity but also, in action, “pull up the sunflower and stop weaving.” [3]3 The Yan’an Rectification Movement (延安整风运动, 1942-1944) was a Party-wide campaign to establish Mao Zedong Thought as the guiding ideology and to correct alleged deviations in work style and thinking. Among these, the Xiao Yubi case further demonstrated the Border Region Government’s resolute determination to punish corruption with an iron fist. Xiao Yubi was a combat hero who joined the Red Army in 1933. Because he embezzled 3,050 yuan of public funds during his tenure, he was sentenced to death by the Border Region High Court according to law. Yan’an’s Liberation Daily commented: “On the ground of ‘clean politics,’ not a single weed of the Xiao Yubi type is allowed to grow! If one appears, pull it out!” The severe handling of this case confirmed the Border Region Government’s consciousness in the closed-loop governance of “trust—supervision—punishment”: regardless of seniority or merit, anyone who touched the red line of integrity would be severely punished by law. It was precisely this style of clean and honest dedication to public duty that forged the upright and clean political ecology of Yan’an.

毛泽东在总结延安时期“十个没有”的清新政治生态时明确指出：在延安“一没有贪官污吏，二没有土豪劣绅……七没有结党营私之徒，八没有萎靡不振之气，九没有人吃磨擦饭，十没有人发国难财”（《毛泽东选集》第2卷，人民出版社1991年版，第718页）。这种廉洁政治形象，正是共产党人清正廉洁、一心为公的生动写照。在延安时期，边区政府实行最低津贴制度：国民党县长月工资一百八十元，而边区县长月津贴仅二元五角，边区政府主席月津贴也不过五元。正如毛泽东所感叹：“谁人能够只要每月五块钱薪水呢？谁人能够创造这样的廉洁政治呢？”（《毛泽东选集》第二卷，第718页）这体现了中国共产党人深刻的政治自觉：党员干部手握权力，须深知“受大者不得取小”的道理，不仅要在认知上明白廉洁的重要性，更要在行动上“拔葵去织”。其中，肖玉璧案更彰显了边区政府铁腕治贪的廉洁决心。肖玉璧是1933年参加红军的战斗英雄，因在任内贪污公款3050元被边区高等法院依法判处死刑。延安《解放日报》评论道：“在‘廉洁政治’的地面上，不容许有一个‘肖玉璧’式的莠草生长！有了，就拔掉它！”这起案件的严正处理，印证了边区政府在“信任—监督—惩戒”闭环治理上的自觉：无论资历深浅、功劳大小，只要触碰廉洁红线，必受法律严惩。正是这种廉洁奉公的作风铸就了延安风清气正的政治生态。

In September 1944, Zhang Side, a soldier of the Central Guard Regiment, unfortunately sacrificed his life at the age of 29 when a charcoal kiln collapsed in Shixiayu, Ansai. At the memorial meeting, Mao Zedong delivered the famous speech “Serve the People”: “Our Communist Party and the Eighth Route and New Fourth Armies led by our Party are battalions of the revolution. These battalions of ours are wholly dedicated to the liberation of the people and work entirely in the people’s interests” (Selected Works of Mao Zedong, Vol. 3, p. 1004). This fully demonstrated the weight of the word “people” in the hearts of the Chinese Communists and was a solemn declaration of the Communists’ outlook on political performance. In 1945, the Seventh National Congress of the Party formally wrote “serving the people wholeheartedly” into the Party Constitution, establishing it as the Party’s fundamental purpose. During the Yan’an period, serving the people wholeheartedly was not just a slogan but was implemented through a series of institutional practices. The ideological method and working method of investigation and research were effectively promoted. In the ideological sphere, a new atmosphere had begun to be established. The scientific spirit of investigation and research based on seeking truth from facts had gradually been cultivated. The Party implemented the “Three-Thirds System” [4]4 “The 300th Anniversary of the Fall of the Ming Dynasty” (《甲申三百年祭》) is a 1944 essay by the historian Guo Moruo analyzing the reasons for the Ming collapse and Li Zicheng’s failure, used by Mao to warn against complacency after victory. democratic politics, while simultaneously carrying out systematic propaganda and implementation of the policies of streamlining administration, the cooperative movement, reducing rent and interest, and the Great Production Movement, successfully forging the Chinese Communist Party’s value concept of serving the people. The masses in the border region personally felt the reduction of burdens and the improvement of government efficiency through actual changes, forming a deep identification with the Chinese Communist Party’s people-centered political stance, thereby further strengthening their support for and endorsement of the Chinese Communist Party.

1944年9月，中央警卫团战士张思德在安塞石峡峪因炭窑崩塌不幸牺牲，年仅二十九岁。毛泽东在追悼会上作了题为《为人民服务》的著名演讲：“我们的共产党和共产党所领导的八路军、新四军，是革命的队伍。我们这个队伍完全是为着解放人民的，是彻底地为人民的利益工作的。”（《毛泽东选集》第三卷，第1004页）这充分彰显了“人民”二字在中国共产党人心中的分量，更是共产党人政绩观的庄严宣示。1945年，党的七大正式将全心全意为人民服务写入党章，确立为党的根本宗旨。延安时期，全心全意为人民服务不仅是一句口号，更落实为一系列制度实践。调查研究的思想方法和工作方法得到有效推广，在思想领域内，已经开始建立一种新的风气。实事求是的科学调查研究精神，已经逐渐培养起来。党实行“三三制”民主政治，同时围绕精兵简政、合作社运动、减租减息和大生产运动进行了系统宣传与贯彻执行，成功锻造了中国共产党为人民服务的价值理念。边区群众在实际变化中切身感受到负担减轻和政务提效，对中国共产党以人民为中心的政治立场形成了深刻认同，进一步加强了对中国共产党的支持与拥护。

II

二

In May 1948, the CPC Central Committee moved its base to Xibaipo, which became the “last rural command post” for the liberation of all China. From this small mountain village, the Party Central Committee directed the three great campaigns of Liaoshen, Huaihai, and Pingjin, and convened the historically significant Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee. During the Xibaipo period, the Chinese Communists, against the backdrop of imminent nationwide victory, further tempered and forged a correct outlook on political performance.

1948年5月，中共中央移驻西柏坡，这里成为解放全中国的“最后一个农村指挥所”。在这个小山村，党中央指挥了辽沈、淮海、平津三大战役，召开了具有伟大历史意义的七届二中全会。西柏坡时期，中国共产党人在即将取得全国胜利的背景下进一步锤炼与锻造了正确政绩观。

During the Xibaipo period, our Party convened the National Conference on Land, promulgated the Outline of the Chinese Land Law, elevated the land issue, which the masses cared about most, to a strategic level, and carried out a vigorous land reform movement in the liberated areas. Land reform directly unified the Party’s strategic goals with the peasants’ most urgent interests and demands, transforming the peasants from onlookers or passive participants in the revolution into conscious subjects and steadfast supporters of the revolution. The effects of land reform were immediate: within less than a year of its implementation in the liberated areas, 160 million people—approximately 37 percent of the country’s population at the time—obtained land. The liberated peasants burst forth with incalculable revolutionary enthusiasm. According to statistics, during the Three Great Campaigns [1]1 The Three Great Campaigns (三大战役) refer to the Liaoshen, Huaihai, and Pingjin campaigns (1948-1949), the decisive military engagements of the Chinese Civil War that secured Communist control of northern and central China., a cumulative total of over 8.8 million civilian laborers were mobilized, and the people put forward 1.41 million carts of various sizes to support the front. This fully confirmed Mao Zedong’s thesis that “the deepest roots of the great power of war lie in the masses of the people” (Selected Works of Mao Zedong, Vol. 2, p. 511). Land reform not only realized the millennia-old dream of “land to the tiller” but also fundamentally changed the balance of class forces in the liberated areas, closely integrating land, labor, military force, and political power into one entity, providing an inexhaustible supply of material and human support for the victory of the War of Liberation. In March 1949, the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Party was convened in Xibaipo. Facing the imminent nationwide victory, Mao Zedong issued a call to the entire Party: “It is imperative to keep the comrades modest, prudent, free from arrogance and rashness in their style of work; it is imperative to keep the comrades hardworking and plain in their style of work” (Selected Works of Mao Zedong, Vol. 4, pp. 1438-1439). This contained a profound reference to the laws of several thousand years of Chinese history, a profound summation of the arduous and extraordinary struggle of the Chinese Communist Party, a profound understanding of the Party’s fundamental purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly, and, moreover, originated from a thorough comprehension of the essence of the Communists’ outlook on political performance. As Mao Zedong pointed out, “To win nationwide victory is only the first step in a long march of ten thousand li” and “The Chinese revolution is great, but the road after the revolution will be longer, the work greater and more arduous” (Selected Works of Mao Zedong, Vol. 4, p. 1438).

西柏坡时期，我们党召开全国土地会议，公布《中国土地法大纲》，将群众最为关心的土地问题提到战略高度，在解放区进行轰轰烈烈的土地改革运动。土地改革将党的战略目标与农民最迫切的利益诉求直接统一起来，使农民不再是革命的旁观者或被动参与者，而成为革命的自觉主体和坚定支持者。土改效果立竿见影：在解放区开展不到一年时间，就有一亿六千万、约占当时全国37%的人口得到了土地。翻身农民迸发出难以估量的革命热情，据统计，在三大战役中，动员民工累计达880余万人次，人民群众出动支前的大小车辆141万辆。这充分印证了毛泽东关于“战争的伟力之最深厚的根源，存在于民众之中”（《毛泽东选集》第2卷，第511页）的论断。土地改革不仅实现了“耕者有其田”的千年梦想，更从根本上改变了解放区的阶级力量对比，将土地、劳动、武力与政权紧密结合为一体，为解放战争的胜利提供了源源不断的物质和人力支持。1949年3月，党的七届二中全会在西柏坡召开。面对很快就要到来的全国胜利，毛泽东向全党发出号召：“务必使同志们继续地保持谦虚、谨慎、不骄、不躁的作风，务必使同志们继续地保持艰苦奋斗的作风。”（《毛泽东选集》第四卷，第1438~1439页）这包含着对中国几千年历史规律的深刻借鉴，包含着对中国共产党艰苦卓绝奋斗历程的深刻总结，包含着对中国共产党坚持全心全意为人民服务根本宗旨的深刻认识，更源于对共产党人政绩观本质的透彻理解。正如毛泽东所指出的，“夺取全国胜利，这只是万里长征走完了第一步”“中国的革命是伟大的，但革命以后的路程更长，工作更伟大，更艰苦”（《毛泽东选集》第四卷，第1438页）。

In March 1949, the leading bodies of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China left Xibaipo and set out for Beiping. Before departing, Mao Zedong said to Zhou Enlai: “Today is the day we enter the capital. We are going to the capital to ‘take an examination.’ We must achieve a good result.” Zhou Enlai replied with a smile: “We should all be able to pass the exam; we must not be sent back.” Mao Zedong said firmly: “To be sent back would be a failure. We will absolutely not become Li Zicheng [2]2 Li Zicheng (1606-1645) was a rebel leader who overthrew the Ming dynasty in 1644 but whose forces were quickly defeated by the invading Manchu Qing; his failure is traditionally attributed to corruption and loss of discipline after entering Beijing.! We all hope to achieve a good result” (Chronicle of Mao Zedong (1893-1949), Vol. 2, Central Party Literature Press, 2013, p. 470). As early as the Yan’an Rectification Movement period [3]3 The Yan’an Rectification Movement (延安整风运动, 1942-1944) was a Party-wide campaign to establish Mao Zedong Thought as the guiding ideology and to correct alleged deviations in work style and thinking., Mao Zedong instructed that Guo Moruo’s “The 300th Anniversary of the Fall of the Ming Dynasty” [4]4 “The 300th Anniversary of the Fall of the Ming Dynasty” (《甲申三百年祭》) is a 1944 essay by the historian Guo Moruo analyzing the reasons for the Ming collapse and Li Zicheng’s failure, used by Mao to warn against complacency after victory. be used as an important document for rectification study. He said at a senior cadres’ meeting in Yan’an: “Recently we printed Guo Moruo’s article on Li Zicheng for the purpose of making our comrades take warning and not repeat the mistake of becoming arrogant in the hour of victory” (Selected Works of Mao Zedong, Vol. 3, p. 948). Mao Zedong’s repeated warnings to the entire Party embodied precisely the Communists’ high degree of sobriety and self-awareness on the issue of political performance—the more successive victories one achieves, the more one must remain sober; the greatest political performance is to never become divorced from the masses and to always maintain the true character of hard struggle.

1949年3月，中共中央机关离开西柏坡向北平进发。临行前，毛泽东对周恩来说：“今天是进京的日子，进京‘赶考’去，我们一定要考个好成绩。”周恩来笑道：“我们应当都能考及格，不要退回来。”毛泽东坚定道：“退回来就失败了。我们决不当李自成！我们都希望考个好成绩。”（《毛泽东年谱（1893—1949）》下卷，中央文献出版社2013年版，第470页）早在延安整风时期，毛泽东就指示将郭沫若的《甲申三百年祭》作为整风学习的重要文件。他在延安高级干部会议上说：“近日我们印了郭沫若论李自成的文章，就是要叫同志们引以为鉴戒，不要重犯胜利时骄傲的错误。”（《毛泽东选集》第三卷，第948页）毛泽东反复警示全党，体现的正是共产党人在政绩问题上高度的清醒与自觉——越是接连取得胜利时，越要保持清醒，最大的政绩就是始终不脱离群众、始终保持艰苦奋斗的本色。

During the Xibaipo period, as the Party’s economic, political, and military strength increased significantly, it became entirely possible to improve office conditions and living standards. However, the Chinese Communists consciously adhered to the political character of hard struggle and self-reliance, maintaining a style of being free from arrogance and rashness, and of diligence and thrift, even when material conditions improved. The residences and offices of leaders such as Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and Zhu De were extremely simple. Mao Zedong used a wooden bed and old tables and chairs as his living quarters; Zhu De’s double bed was merely made of benches and wooden planks; Zhou Enlai insisted on repairing a broken tea mug rather than easily replacing it with a new one. These demonstrated the proletarian party’s conscious awareness of maintaining a sober mind in the face of victory and adhering to spiritual character amidst gradually increasing material abundance. They are a vivid portrayal of the Party’s advanced nature and purity in the construction of work style.

西柏坡时期，随着党在经济、政治和军事实力上的显著增强，改善办公条件与生活水平已具备充分可能。然而，中国共产党人自觉秉持艰苦奋斗、自强不息的政治本色，在物质条件改善面前始终保持不骄不躁、勤俭节约的作风。毛泽东、周恩来、朱德等领导人的住所与办公场所极为简朴，毛泽东以木板床、旧桌椅为起居之具，朱德的双人床仅由长凳与木板拼成，周恩来坚持修复破损茶缸而不轻易更换新物。这些彰显了无产阶级政党在胜利面前保持清醒头脑、在物质逐渐丰裕中坚守精神品格的自觉意识，是党的先进性与纯洁性在作风建设上的生动写照。

From the Yan’an period to the Xibaipo period, the Chinese Communists’ outlook on political performance was not static and unchanging, but rather a process of continuous inheritance and development adapted to different historical tasks and in different historical stages. During the Yan’an period, the Party was in the base area environment of partial governance; revolution and war were the overriding central tasks. The Party’s outlook on political performance was mainly manifested in creating “tangible material benefits” for the masses in the base areas under the pressure of military struggle and survival. By the Xibaipo period, the Party began to move from partial governance to nationwide governance. At the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Party, Mao Zedong explicitly stated: “From the very first day we take over a city, we should direct our attention to the restoration and development of production in that city” (Selected Works of Mao Zedong, Vol. 4, p. 1428). From “organizing the masses” in the Yan’an period to “restoring production” in the Xibaipo period, from political performance in military struggle to political performance in economic construction, the Chinese Communists’ outlook on political performance has always revolved around the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people. This development within inheritance, this adherence amidst changing circumstances, embodies precisely the internal logic and historical dialectics of the Chinese Communists’ outlook on political performance.

从延安时期到西柏坡时期，中国共产党人的政绩观不是静止不变的，而是适应不同历史任务、在不同历史阶段中不断继承与发展的过程。延安时期，党处于局部执政的根据地环境中，革命与战争是压倒一切的中心任务，党的政绩观主要表现为在军事斗争和生存压力下为根据地群众创造“看得见的物质福利”。到了西柏坡时期，党开始由局部执政走向全国执政。在党的七届二中全会上，毛泽东明确提出：“从我们接管城市的第一天起，我们的眼睛就要向着这个城市的生产事业的恢复和发展。”（《毛泽东选集》第四卷，第1428页）从延安时期的“把群众组织起来”到西柏坡时期的“把生产恢复起来”，从军事斗争的政绩到经济建设的政绩，中国共产党人的政绩观始终围绕最广大人民的根本利益，这一继承中的发展、变局中的坚守，体现的正是中国共产党人政绩观的内在逻辑与历史辩证法。

Looking at the historical process from Yan’an to Xibaipo, the historical trajectory of the Chinese Communists’ tempering and adherence to a correct outlook on political performance is not only a shift in geographical space, but also a logical unfolding of the continuous deepening of the outlook on political performance, providing historical experience for establishing and practicing a correct outlook on political performance in the New Era.

纵观从延安到西柏坡的历史进程，中国共产党人锤炼与坚守正确政绩观的历史轨迹，不仅是地理空间的转换，更是政绩观不断深化的逻辑展开，为新时代树立和践行正确政绩观提供了历史经验。

(Author: Wu Yin, Professor, School of Economics, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics)

（作者：吴垠，系西南财经大学经济学院教授）