The Origin, Examination and Discursive Changes of the CPC’s Concept of Political Health Check

On June 29, 2018, in his important speech “Enhancing the Consciousness and Firmness of Advancing the Party’s Political Building,” General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed the need to “let Party members and cadres regularly receive political health checks in intra-Party political life, sweep away political dust, purify the political soul, and strengthen political immunity.” This important exposition not only put forward the clear requirement of “regularly receiving political health checks,” but also profoundly revealed the important role of political health checks in strengthening the Party’s political building. On January 31, 2019, the “Opinions of the Central Committee of the CPC on Strengthening the Party’s Political Building” [1]1 The “Opinions of the Central Committee of the CPC on Strengthening the Party’s Political Building” is a key document issued in January 2019 that systematically outlines the requirements for enhancing the political nature of the Party. for the first time wrote “political health check” into the system of intra-Party regulations. On February 23, 2024, the “Opinions of the General Office of the Central Committee of the CPC on Consolidating and Expanding the Results of the Study and Implementation of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era” once again stressed the need to regularly carry out “political health checks.” As an identifying concept in the discourse system of the study of the history and building of the CPC, the political health check embodies the unique practical mode by which the CPC strengthens its political building, and is one of the important categories that cannot be ignored in the study of Party building.

2018年6月29日，习近平总书记在《增强推进党的政治建设的自觉性和坚定性》的重要讲话中强调，要“让党员、干部在党内政治生活中经常接受政治体检，打扫政治灰尘，净化政治灵魂，增强政治免疫力”。这一重要论述不仅提出了“经常接受政治体检”的明确要求，还深刻揭示了政治体检对于加强党的政治建设的重要作用。2019年1月31日，《中共中央关于加强党的政治建设的意见》首次将“政治体检”写入党内法规制度之中。2024年2月23日，《中共中央办公厅关于巩固拓展学习贯彻习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想主题教育成果的意见》再次强调要经常性开展“政治体检”。作为中共党史党建学话语体系中的标识性概念，政治体检体现了中国共产党加强政治建设的独特实践方式，是党的建设研究不可忽视的重要范畴之一。

From the perspective of conceptual history, the evolutionary course of the concept of political health check clearly reflects the CPC’s exploratory journey of strengthening its own building over more than a century. In theoretical terms, systematically sorting out the discursive changes of the concept of political health check helps to construct an autonomous knowledge system of the study of the history and building of the CPC with Chinese characteristics. In practical terms, a comprehensive examination of the historical evolution of the concept of political health check helps to reveal the historical trajectory of the Party’s political building over more than a century, and provides experience for Party organizations at all levels to draw on in implementing the Party Central Committee’s requirement to “carry out regular political health checks.”

从概念史角度来看，政治体检概念的演进历程清晰映照着中国共产党百余年来加强自身建设的探索征程。在理论意义上，系统梳理政治体检概念的话语变迁，有助于构建具有中国特色的中共党史党建学自主知识体系。在实践意义上，全面考察政治体检概念的历史流变，有助于揭示百余年来党的政治建设的历史轨迹，为各级党组织贯彻落实“开展经常性政治体检”的党中央要求提供经验借鉴。

I. An Examination of the Origin of the Concept of Political Health Check

一、政治体检概念的源流考释

In the New Era, as the CPC’s need to advance its self-revolution and solve the unique problems of a large Party became increasingly clear and urgent, the term “political health check” was formally proposed. Although the term “political health check” did not formally appear before the New Era, this does not mean that there were no expressions of thought and consciousness or practical explorations related to political health checks in past history. The political health check is an important result of the CPC’s continuous advancement of the Two Integrations [2]2 The Two Integrations (两个结合) refers to the integration of the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with the best of its traditional culture.. To examine the origin of this concept, we must proceed from two aspects: the excellent traditional Chinese culture and the relevant expositions of Marxist classical writers on Party building.

新时代，随着中国共产党推进党的自我革命、解决大党独有难题的需求变得愈发清晰与迫切，政治体检一词被正式提出。虽然新时代以前政治体检这一词汇并未正式出现，但是这并不代表过去历史中不存在与政治体检相关的思想意识表达和现实实践探索。政治体检是中国共产党不断推进“两个结合”的重要成果，对这一概念进行源流考释，要从中华优秀传统文化和马克思主义经典作家关于党的建设相关论述这两方面着手。

(A) Cultural Exploration of the Origin of the Concept of Political Health Check

（一）政治体检概念的文化探源

“Political health check” is a compound word formed by combining “political” (政治) and “health check” (体检). In the context of ancient Chinese language, the word “political” (政治) meant handling government affairs and governing the state. For example, in the “Bi Ming” chapter of the *Book of Documents*: “The Way is harmonious and governance is achieved, bestowing blessings on the people,” describes a social state where government affairs are handled harmoniously and appropriately, and benefits are bestowed upon the people. The word “health check” (体检) is not common in ancient Chinese language. The original meaning of “body” (体) refers to the physical body or form. For example, in the *Explaining Graphs and Analyzing Characters*: “Body (体) is the general term for the twelve parts.” The original meaning of “check” (检) is to examine or inspect. For example, in the “Edict on Collecting Land Tax”: “Commandery and state governors and chancellors shall clearly inspect and examine it.” Combining “body” (体) and “check” (检) together emphasizes the examination and assessment of a person’s state of physical health. In ancient Chinese vocabulary, terms like “diagnose illness” (诊病) and “inspect and verify” (察验) were usually used to express this meaning. For example, in the “Separate Treatise on the Channels” chapter of the *Plain Questions*: “The way of diagnosing illness is to observe a person’s courage, timidity, bones, flesh, and skin.” Therefore, interpreting the compound word “political health check” from an etymological perspective, as a figurative expression, it extends the medical concept of “health check” into the political field, mainly referring to the inspection and assessment of a person’s political quality.

政治体检是由“政治”和“体检”组合而成的复合词。在古代汉语语境中，“政治”一词意为处理政务、治理国家。如《尚书·毕命》中“道洽政治，泽润生民”，描述的是一种政务处理融洽得当，福祉润泽人民大众的社会状态。“体检”一词在古代汉语中并不常见。“体”的本义指身体、形体。如《说文解字》：“体，总十二属也。”“检”的本义指查验、审查。如《收田租令》：“郡国守相明检察之。”将“体”与“检”搭配起来使用，强调对人身体健康状态的检查与评估，在古代汉语词汇中通常使用“诊病”“察验”来表达这一含义。如《素问·经脉别论篇》：“诊病之道，观人勇怯骨肉皮肤。”因此，从词源学角度对政治体检这一复合词进行释义，政治体检作为一种形象化表达，将医学中的“体检”概念引申到了政治领域，主要指的是对人的政治品质进行检查与评估。

Tracing the concept of political health check requires not only an etymological explanation of the characters to explore its basic semantic connotations, but also a return to the context of China’s ancient excellent traditional culture. Specifically, traditional cultural concepts such as “self-examination” (参省), “performance assessment” (考课), and “public critique” (清议) can be regarded as the cultural origins of the political health check. First, the concept of “self-examination” reflects the tradition of self-reflection among ancient Chinese sages, highlighting the noble quality of the Chinese nation in focusing on examining its own shortcomings. The content of “self-examination” includes reflection on one’s own political stance, which laid an important ideological foundation for the historical formation of the concept of political health check. For example, in the “Xue Er” chapter of the *Analects*: “I daily examine myself on three points,” emphasizes that people should enhance their moral cultivation through periodic self-inspection; in the “Encouraging Learning” chapter of the *Xunzi*: “The gentleman learns broadly and daily examines himself, then he is wise and acts without fault,” emphasizes that only through continuous self-examination can a person be wise and avoid mistakes; in the “Record of Music” chapter of the *Book of Rites*: “If one cannot turn back and examine oneself, the principle of Heaven is destroyed,” emphasizes that a person needs to check their own words and deeds from their own perspective. Second, the concept of “performance assessment” emphasizes the assessment and examination of political officials, reflecting ancient China’s emphasis on political supervision and official assessment. Since ancient times, China has focused on periodic evaluation and supervisory examination of political officials. The content of “performance assessment” involves many aspects such as “virtue, ability, diligence, performance, and integrity,” with particular emphasis on examining officials’ political loyalty. The tradition of supervising political officials and the logic of assessment in ancient China share many similarities with the concept of political health check, which emphasizes the supervision of political power and attaches importance to the evaluation of political performance. Third, “public critique” originated from the Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties period, when people attempted to influence the political situation through “public critique” (i.e., open criticism and discussion of political figures). This practice essentially played a supervisory role for public opinion over political figures, forcing ancient officials to abide by political principles and norms. This concept of advocating criticism and discussion of political figures is highly consistent with the concept of political health check, which emphasizes mass supervision.

对政治体检概念的追溯，不仅要从词源学角度说文解字，探讨政治体检的基本语义内涵，还需回到中国古代的优秀传统文化语境之中。具体来看，“参省”“考课”“清议”等传统文化理念，可视为政治体检的文化渊源。其一，“参省”理念反映了中国古代先贤的自省传统，彰显了中华民族注重审视自身不足的高尚品质，而“参省”内容包括对自身政治立场的反思，这便为政治体检概念的历史生成奠定了重要的思想基础。如《论语·学而》中的“吾日三省吾身”，强调人要通过周期性的自我检视来提升自身道德修养；《荀子·劝学》中的“君子博学而日参省乎己，则知明而行无过矣”，强调人只有通过持续性地自我审视，才能明智而不犯错；《礼记·乐记》中的“不能反躬，天理灭矣”，强调人需要从自身角度出发检查自己的言行得失。其二，“考课”理念强调对政治官员进行考核与审查，是中国古代注重政治监督和官员考核的体现。中国自古以来就注重对政治官员进行定期评估和监督审查，“考课”内容则涉及“德能勤绩廉”等诸多方面，尤其强调对官员政治忠诚度的考察。中国古代对政治官员的监督传统和考核逻辑，与政治体检概念强调政治权力监督、重视政治绩效评估有着诸多相通之处。其三，“清议”源自魏晋南北朝时期，人们试图通过“清议”（即对政治人物进行公开的批评议论）来影响政治局势。这种做法实质上发挥了社会舆论对于政治人物的监督作用，倒逼着古代官员们遵守政治原则和政治规范。这种主张对政治人物进行批评议论的“清议”理念，与政治体检注重群众监督的理念高度契合。

(B) Theoretical Origins of the Concept of Political Health Check

（二）政治体检概念的理论渊源

Although the concept of political health check does not appear directly in the classical works of Marxism, the relevant expositions of Marxist classical writers on Party building provide the ideological foundation for the political health check. First, the relevant expositions of Marxist classical writers on Party spirit (党性). In the classical works of Marxism, “Party spirit as a political distinction between opposing classes” emphasizes the difference in political stance between the proletarian party and various non-Marxist political parties. The relevant expositions mainly revolve around defending the class stance and historical position of Communists. Engels stressed: “Communists must at all times resolutely struggle against such reactionary socialists.” Lenin pointed out: “We do not want nominal Party members... We must pay attention to improving the quality of Party members and cleansing ‘those who have sneaked into the Party.’” This series of relevant expositions on Party spirit directly laid the theoretical foundation for the generation of the concept of political health check. Second, the relevant expositions of Marxist classical writers on regulating intra-Party political life. “Openly admitting mistakes, revealing the causes of mistakes, analyzing the environment in which mistakes occurred, and carefully discussing methods for correcting mistakes—this is the mark of a serious Party.” In works such as *What Is to Be Done?* and *One Step Forward, Two Steps Back*, Lenin profoundly expounded the significance of the intra-Party political life practice of “criticism and self-criticism” in helping Party organizations and members identify and correct mistakes. The political health check is essentially also a reflective, error-correcting practice of intra-Party political life. The concept of “criticism and self-criticism” of Marxist classical writers not only provides a theoretical basis for the political health check, but also provides a scientific methodology for its standardized operation. Third, the relevant expositions of Marxist classical writers on carrying out ideological struggle and political education. Marxist classical writers have always attached great importance to ideological struggle. Marx and Engels spent their entire lives theoretically criticizing the erroneous trends of thought propagated by Proudhon, Bakunin, Dühring, and others. This not only helped the proletarian party enhance its political discernment, but also put forward requirements for Communists in terms of political cognition, political stance, etc., providing a theoretical basis for the selection of content and establishment of standards for political health checks. Furthermore, in the process of carrying out ideological struggle, Marxist classical writers also prominently emphasized the importance of political education, holding that the proletarian party must overcome the influence of various erroneous trends of thought through political education.

马克思主义经典著作中虽然没有直接出现政治体检概念，但马克思主义经典作家关于党的建设相关论述为政治体检提供了思想基础。其一，马克思主义经典作家关于党性的相关论述。在马克思主义经典著作中，“作为对立阶级而加以政治区分的党性”，强调无产阶级政党的政治立场与各种非马克思主义政党政治立场之间的区别，相关论述主要围绕捍卫共产党人的阶级立场和历史地位而展开。恩格斯强调：“共产主义者随时都要坚决同这类反动的社会主义者作斗争。”列宁指出：“徒有其名的党员，就是白给，我们也不要……注意党员质量的提高和清洗‘混进党里来的人’。”这一系列关于党性的相关论述直接为政治体检概念的生成奠定了理论基础。其二，马克思主义经典作家关于规范党内政治生活的相关论述。“公开承认错误，揭露犯错误的原因，分析产生错误的环境，仔细讨论改正错误的方法——这才是一个郑重的党的标志。”列宁在《怎么办？》《进一步，退两步》等著作中深刻阐述了“批评与自我批评”这一党内政治生活实践对帮助党组织和党员识错、纠错的重要意义。而政治体检在本质上也是一种反思式、纠错式的党内政治生活实践。马克思主义经典作家关于“批评与自我批评”的理念，不仅为政治体检提供了理论依据，而且为其规范化运行提供了科学方法论。其三，马克思主义经典作家关于开展意识形态斗争和政治教育的相关论述。马克思主义经典作家始终高度重视意识形态斗争，马克思恩格斯终其一生都在对蒲鲁东、巴枯宁、杜林等人所宣扬的错误思潮进行理论批判，这不仅有助于无产阶级政党提升政治鉴别力，还对共产党员提出了政治认知、政治立场等方面的要求，为政治体检的内容选择和标准确立提供了理论依据。此外，马克思主义经典作家在开展意识形态斗争的过程中还突出强调了政治教育的重要性，认为无产阶级政党必须通过政治教育来克服各种错误思潮的影响。

II. The Gestation and Germination of the Concept of Political Health Check during the Period of the New Democratic Revolution

二、新民主主义革命时期政治体检概念的孕育萌芽

As a proletarian party with outstanding revolutionary and combative character, the Chinese Communist Party has, since its founding, placed great emphasis on advancing self-revolution and conducting political physical examinations in the practice of revolutionary struggle. Adhering to the testing logic that “the battlefield is the examination hall,” it tests the political loyalty of Party members in the practice of revolutionary struggle. In November 1922, Cai Hesen published an article criticizing the erroneous views of some “so-called socialists” within the Party who supported federal-provincial autonomy, arguing that “these arguments are simply not the words of socialists; they have simply abandoned the revolutionary stance, revealing a serious reactionary color, and are a despicable act insulting socialism.” [3]3 Cai Hesen (1895–1931) was an early leader of the Chinese Communist Party and a close comrade of Mao Zedong. Federal-provincial autonomy was a political movement in early Republican China advocating for provincial self-rule, which the CPC opposed as a feudal and divisive scheme. He believed that true socialists must, in the practice of revolutionary struggle, achieve two “resolute oppositions,” namely resolute opposition to warlord separatism and resolute opposition to federal-provincial autonomy, and pointed out that Communists “if they recognize either of these two feudal propositions, they have abandoned the revolutionary stance and acquiesced to the feudal status quo.” This article effectively used the recognition or non-recognition of these two feudal propositions as the standard for a political physical examination, providing a theoretical basis for scrutinizing the political stance of Party members.

作为一个具有突出革命性与斗争性的无产阶级政党，中国共产党自成立以来就十分注重在革命斗争实践中推进自我革命、开展政治体检，秉持着“战场即考场”的检验逻辑，在革命斗争实践中检验党员的政治忠诚度。1922年11月，蔡和森刊文批判了党内一些“所谓社会主义者”支持联省自治的错误主张，认为“这些议论简直不是社会主义者所说的话，简直离开了革命的立场现出严重的反动色彩，而且是侮辱社会主义的卑污行为”。他认为真正的社会主义者在革命斗争实践中必须做到两个“极力反对”，即极力反对军阀割据和极力反对联省自治，并指出共产党人“若是承认这两种封建的主张之一，便是离开了革命立场，附和封建的现状了”。这篇文章实际上将是否承认这两种封建的主张作为政治体检的标准，在理论层面为审视党员政治立场提供了依据。

In practice, the Chinese Communist Party regarded the practice of revolutionary struggle as the most direct tool for the political physical examination of Communist Party members, paying particular attention to examining the specific performance of Party members in the course of revolutionary struggle and testing their political loyalty. Based on this, some Party members, due to their unsteady political stance as revealed in the test of revolutionary struggle practice—manifesting a fear of participating in revolutionary struggle or a passive attitude toward it—were expelled from the Party organization. During this period, the practice of revolutionary struggle became the touchstone for testing the political stance of Communist Party members, and the specific words and actions of Party members in revolutionary struggles such as strikes and propaganda became the core basis for the Party organization to evaluate whether a member was politically loyal.

在实践中，中国共产党更是将革命斗争实践视为共产党员最直接的政治体检工具，尤为注重在革命斗争实践过程中考察党员的具体表现，检验共产党员的政治忠诚度。基于此，有部分党员在革命斗争实践检验中因政治立场不坚定，显现出畏惧参加革命斗争或消极参加革命斗争的状态而被党组织除名。革命斗争实践在这一时期成为检验共产党员政治立场的试金石，党员在罢工、宣传等革命斗争实践中的具体言行表现成为党组织评价党员是否政治忠诚的核心检验依据。

Furthermore, to strengthen the screening of Party members’ political stances and advance the work of rectifying the Party membership, the Chinese Communist Party initially formed a political review system closely related to the political physical examination during the New Democratic Revolution period. Through political review, the political physical examination was integrated into the entire process of organizational purification, including multiple stages such as qualification access, testing and evaluation, and dynamic cleansing. In the qualification access stage, the strict review of Party members by the Chinese Communist Party already contained the logic of a political physical examination, emphasizing that joining the Party required political screening by the Party organization to ensure that new members were consistent with the Party organization in their political stance. This practice of strengthening political review at the qualification access stage was, in effect, a political physical examination based on political consciousness and class stance. In the testing and evaluation stage, the Chinese Communist Party made diversified attempts at methods for evaluating the political quality of Party members during this period. First, “through Party class examinations and tests, to assess learning outcomes.” The content of Party class examinations and tests was mostly political knowledge tests, which, while examining the results of Party members’ theoretical study, also assessed their political literacy. Second, political review work was carried out based on evaluations from reliable acquaintances of the Party member. After the failure of the Great Revolution, the Chinese Communist Party treated defectors seriously but still sought truth from facts, using “judgments from surrounding acquaintances” to determine the political complexion of Party members who had falsely defected. [4]4 The Great Revolution (1925–1927) refers to the first united front period between the CPC and the Kuomintang, which ended with a violent split and the CPC’s near-destruction in urban areas. Third, the political quality of Communist Party members was assessed based on personnel files. During this period, the Chinese Communist Party established a personnel file system for Party members, which recorded in detail the life history, social relations, and family background of Party members, and most importantly, also recorded “key junctures in the Party member’s past experience (such as the process of being arrested, captured, released from prison, released, and committing major errors…).” Based on the above materials, a meticulous review was conducted. Relying on personnel files, the Party organization enhanced its grasp of Party members’ past history, while also strengthening the objectivity of conclusions regarding the evaluation of Party members’ political stances. In the dynamic cleansing stage, during the process of reviewing Party members, the Chinese Communist Party required Party organizations to strictly examine the political stance of Party members and resolutely draw a line of demarcation with “bad elements.”

此外，为加强党员政治立场甄别、推进党员队伍整顿工作，中国共产党在新民主主义革命时期初步形成了一套与政治体检紧密相关的政治审查制度，以政治审查的方式使政治体检贯穿于包括资格准入、测验评估、动态清理等多个环节的组织净化全过程。在资格准入环节，中国共产党对党员的严格审查已蕴含政治体检逻辑，强调入党需经过党组织的政治筛选，以确保新增党员在政治立场上与党组织保持一致。这种在资格准入环节加强政治审查的做法，实际上就是以政治觉悟和阶级立场为依据的政治体检。在测验评估环节，中国共产党在这一时期对党员政治品质评判方法进行了多元化尝试。其一，“通过党课考核测验，检测学习成果”。党课考核测验内容大多是政治知识测验，实际上在检测党员理论学习成果的同时也在考察党员的政治素养。其二，根据党员身边可靠的熟人评价来开展政治审查工作。大革命失败后，中国共产党严肃对待自首分子，但仍实事求是地通过“周边熟人加以判断”假自首党员的政治面目。其三，依据人事档案评估共产党员的政治素质。中国共产党在这一时期通过建立党员人事档案制度，详细记录了党员的人生履历、社会关系和家庭背景，最重要的还记录有党员过往经历中的“重要关节（如被捕、被俘、出狱、释放及犯重大错误……的经过）”，根据上述材料精细地审查。基于人事档案，党组织增进了对党员过往历史的把握，同时也增强了党员政治立场评估结论的客观性。在动态清理环节，中国共产党在进行党员审查过程中要求党组织严格审查党员的政治立场，坚决同“坏分子”划清界限。

In summary, the Chinese Communist Party conducted preliminary explorations of the political physical examination from multiple dimensions during the New Democratic Revolution period. During this period, some of the Party’s discourse expressions already contained the core elements of a political physical examination in their connotations. Although, limited by the historical conditions of the time, these exploratory practices differed considerably from the political physical examination of the New Era in terms of standardization and systematization, the logic of political purification and self-revolution ran through them consistently. This promoted the formation of some regular understandings by the Chinese Communist Party amidst experiences and lessons, laying a relatively good practical foundation for carrying out work related to the political physical examination and strengthening the Party’s political construction after the founding of New China.

总之，中国共产党在新民主主义革命时期从多维度对政治体检进行了初步探索，这一时期党的一些话语表达在内涵上已含有政治体检的核心要素。尽管限于当时的历史条件，这些探索实践在规范性、系统性上与新时代政治体检存在不小差距，但其中政治净化、自我革命的逻辑是贯穿始终的，并促进中国共产党在经验教训中形成了一些规律性的认识，为新中国成立后开展政治体检相关工作并加强党的政治建设打下了较好的实践基础。

III. The Tortuous Evolution of the Concept of Political Physical Examination during the Period of Socialist Revolution and Construction

三、社会主义革命和建设时期政治体检概念的曲折演进

After the founding of New China, the Chinese Communist Party, based on its earlier practical exploration experience, gradually increased its emphasis on the Party’s political construction. In particular, the work of political review of Party members gradually became normalized during this stage. During this period, the Chinese Communist Party institutionalized the work of political review of Party members by formulating intra-Party regulations. On this basis, it extensively mobilized the masses, leveraging the power of mass movements to further strengthen the ideological and political guidance of Communist Party members, and organized and launched movements such as the “Anti-Rightist” movement and the “Socialist Education” movement. [5]5 The Anti-Rightist movement (1957) was a campaign to suppress perceived opponents of the Party’s leadership, often targeting intellectuals. The Socialist Education Movement (1963–1966) was a rural campaign aimed at correcting cadre misconduct and class struggle ideology. These movements all included procedures related to the political physical examination. Based on this, the Chinese Communist Party explored and formed a unique model of political physical examination during this period, combining institutionalized political review with movement-style political purification. Overall, the discourse expressions relatively close to the political physical examination during this period mainly included “passing the socialist test” and “clearing politics.”

新中国成立后，中国共产党基于前期的实践探索经验，对党的政治建设重视程度逐渐提高，尤其是党员政治审查工作在这一阶段逐渐走向了常态化。这一时期，中国共产党通过制定党内法规将党员政治审查工作制度化，并在此基础上广泛动员人民群众，发挥群众运动的力量进一步强化对共产党员的思想政治引领，组织开展了诸如“反右派”“社会主义教育”等运动，这些运动均包含政治体检相关程序。基于此，中国共产党在这一时期探索形成了制度化政治审查与运动式政治净化相结合的独特政治体检模式。总的来看，这一时期与政治体检较为相近的话语表达主要有“过社会主义关”和“清政治”。

The original meaning of “passing the socialist test” referred to helping democratic parties and figures in industrial and commercial circles understand and identify with the Party’s line, principles, and policies during the process of accepting socialist transformation by strengthening socialist education, guiding them to struggle against various erroneous non-proletarian ideologies. In this regard, Li Weihan pointed out in his article “Democratic Parties Need to Undergo Fundamental Self-Transformation”: “The Anti-Rightist struggle is a major matter concerning the victory or defeat of socialism, and also a major matter concerning the survival or extinction of democratic parties. Moreover, it is a decisive test and tempering for everyone to pass the socialist test.” [6]6 Li Weihan (1896–1984) was a senior CPC leader and united front work specialist. After the founding of New China, as the Chinese Communist Party became the ruling party nationwide, “passing the socialist test” also became a political test for Communist Party members (especially some newly admitted Party members who had not undergone the test of revolutionary struggle practice and some veteran Party members who had experienced revolutionary struggle practice but were arrogant due to their achievements). Based on this, Mao Zedong pointed out: “Some Party members have passed all kinds of tests in the past, but they find it difficult to pass this socialist test.” [7]7 Mao Zedong (1893–1976) was the founding leader of the People’s Republic of China and chairman of the CPC. The “socialist test” Mao Zedong referred to here actually meant the political physical examination of whether Communist Party members could firmly maintain their class stance. According to statistics, by the end of June 1953, a total of 238,000 people had been expelled from the Party organization for failing to meet the political standards for Party membership. [8]8 This figure refers to expulsions during the early 1950s Party consolidation campaigns. Zhou Enlai attached great importance to this issue. He believed that the bourgeoisie, as an exploiting class, would try every means to “conquer those Communist Party members who are politically unsteady and have arrogant sentiments,” so Communist Party members must “pass the socialist test” and “consciously bear the long-term and severe test.” [9]9 Zhou Enlai (1898–1976) was the first Premier of the People’s Republic of China and a key CPC leader. Regarding how Communists should “pass the socialist test,” Zhou Enlai proposed a series of strategic suggestions, including striving to improve theoretical cultivation, strictly implementing the reporting and request-for-instructions system, strengthening collective life training, and always maintaining a spirit of全力以赴 (sparing no effort). [10]10 “Sparing no effort” (全力以赴) is a four-character idiom emphasizing total commitment.

“过社会主义关”的最初语义是指通过加强社会主义教育，帮助民主党派、工商界人士在接受社会主义改造的过程中理解并认同党的路线、方针、政策，引导他们同形形色色的非无产阶级错误思想作斗争。对此，李维汉在《各民主党派需要进行根本的自我改造》一文中指出：“反右派斗争是关系着社会主义胜败的大事，也是关系着各民主党派存亡的大事，并且对每个人都是过社会主义关的一个决定性的考验和锻炼。”新中国成立后，随着中国共产党成为全国范围的执政党，“过社会主义关”对于共产党员（尤其是部分未经过革命斗争实践的新入党党员和部分经历过革命斗争实践而居功自傲的老党员）来说同样是一种政治考验。基于此，毛泽东指出：“有些党员，过去各种关都过了，就是社会主义这一关难过。”这里毛泽东所说的“社会主义这一关”实际上指的就是对共产党员能否站稳阶级立场的政治体检。据统计，截至1953年6月底，共计有23.8万人因达不到党员政治标准而被清除出党组织。周恩来高度重视这一问题，他认为作为剥削阶级的资产阶级会想尽一切办法来“征服那些在政治上不坚定和有骄傲情绪的共产党员”，所以共产党员必须“过社会主义关”，“自觉地承担起长期而又严重的考验”。针对共产党人如何“过社会主义关”，周恩来提出了努力提高理论修养、严格执行请示报告制度、加强集体生活锻炼、始终保持全力以赴的精神等一系列策略建议。

The “qing” in “clearing politics” means to investigate and eliminate. The so-called “clearing politics” refers to the investigation and elimination of political problems. This discourse expression originated from the Party organization’s judgment in the 1960s that there existed political “four unclears” within the Party membership. [11]11 The “four unclears” (四不清) referred to unclear accounts, unclear workpoints, unclear finances, and unclear property in rural collectives, which were linked to political problems during the Socialist Education Movement. It must be emphasized that although the practical exploration of “clearing politics” during this period revolved around investigating and eliminating political problems among Party members, which played a certain role in rectifying the unhealthy political style of the Party membership and could provide some methodological reference for the political physical examination, it also led to adverse consequences. We must, based on the objective evaluation made in the “Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the Major Achievements and Historical Experience of the Party over the Past Century,” [12]12 This resolution was adopted at the Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee in November 2021, providing an official historical assessment of the Party’s century-long journey. adhere to the stance of historical materialism, and promote the work related to the political physical examination towards scientization on the basis of drawing lessons from history.

“清政治”中的“清”意为清查，所谓“清政治”，即为政治问题清查。这一话语表达源自20世纪60年代党组织对党员队伍中存在政治“四不清”的判断。需要强调的是，虽然这一时期的“清政治”实践探索围绕着清查党员政治问题而展开，对于整顿党员队伍不良政治作风起到了一定作用，能够为政治体检提供一些方法论上的借鉴，但也造成了不良后果。我们必须根据《中共中央关于党的百年奋斗重大成就和历史经验的决议》所作出的客观评价，秉持历史唯物主义立场，在汲取历史教训的基础上推动政治体检相关工作走向科学化。

IV. The Expansion of the Connotation of the Concept of Political Physical Examination during the New Period of Reform and Opening Up and Socialist Modernization

四、改革开放和社会主义现代化建设新时期政治体检概念的内涵拓展

During the new period of reform and opening up and socialist modernization, the Chinese Communist Party, in the process of promoting the normalization of inner-Party political life, strengthened its exploration of making the political health check method more scientific, its standards more explicit, and its system more stable. This gave a completely new look to practices related to the political health check. It not only played a positive role in the work of bringing order out of chaos by redressing frame-ups and false cases, but also provided a political guarantee for the Party to always maintain its advanced nature and avoid making subversive mistakes amid the wave of reform and opening up. Specifically, accompanied by the rational reflection of Chinese Communists, the concept of the political health check gradually deepened and enriched its theoretical connotation during this historical period. “Democratic appraisal” (民主评议), “self-examination against standards” (对照检查), and “Party spirit analysis” (党性分析) became the main discursive expressions of the political health check concept.

改革开放和社会主义现代化建设新时期，中国共产党在推进党内政治生活正常化过程中加强了对政治体检方法科学化、标准明确化以及制度稳定化的探索，使政治体检相关实践焕然一新，不仅在平反冤假错案的拨乱反正工作中发挥了积极作用，而且为中国共产党在改革开放浪潮中始终保持先进性、避免犯颠覆性错误提供了政治保证。具体来看，伴随着中国共产党人的理性反思，政治体检概念在这一历史时期逐步深化和丰富了其理论内涵，“民主评议”“对照检查”“党性分析”成了政治体检概念的主要话语表达。

“Democratic appraisal” is an inherent part of the political health check concept and a necessary link in the practice of the political health check. Based on the pilot exploration experience of democratic appraisal of Party members and handling of unqualified Party members in grassroots Party organizations in Zhejiang, Shanghai, Shandong and other places, in October 1988 the head of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee reported to the Party Central Committee, stating that “democratic appraisal of Party members is an effective form of strengthening the education, management, and supervision of grassroots Party members… it seems it can be promoted and gradually formed into a system.” In December of the same year, the CPC Central Committee approved and forwarded the “Opinions on Establishing a System of Democratic Appraisal of Party Members” (hereinafter referred to as the “Opinions”) from the Central Organization Department, and emphasized that “establishing a system of democratic appraisal of Party members is an important measure to govern the Party strictly and improve the quality of Party members, and is an effective method for strengthening the regular education, management, and supervision of Party members through institutional construction.” This provided an intra-Party regulatory basis for the regular conduct of democratic appraisal across the entire Party. The “Opinions” also pointed out the purpose of democratic appraisal, namely, “to inspect and evaluate each Party member’s performance in upholding the Party’s basic line in practice, especially in the current work of improving the economic environment, rectifying the economic order, and comprehensively deepening reform, in playing a vanguard and exemplary role; to commend outstanding Party members; to promote the work of eliminating corrupt elements and handling unqualified Party members; to improve the quality of Party members; and to enhance the cohesion and combat effectiveness of Party organizations.” It can be seen from this that the main purpose of democratic appraisal is to examine the ideological and political quality of Communist Party members, and it is aligned with the political health check in terms of goal orientation. The basic content of democratic appraisal revolves around multiple aspects such as the Party member’s political stance, vanguard role, and political quality, and is consistent with the political health check in terms of specific content. During this historical period, the Party’s continuously increasing emphasis on “democratic appraisal” actually reflected a shift in the concept of the political health check in the thinking of Chinese Communists compared to the previous historical period. In practice, Party organizations at all levels used regular democratic appraisal to discover and solve the political and ideological problems of Communist Party members. This not only changed the drawbacks of past campaign-style political health check practices, which were fleeting and intermittent, but also could be organically integrated with inner-Party political life, fully respecting the rights of Party members, promoting inner-Party democracy, reflecting the real situation more objectively and accurately, and adding driving force, cohesion, and combat effectiveness for Party organizations to further promote self-revolution.

“民主评议”是政治体检概念的应有之义，也是政治体检实践的必要环节。基于浙江、上海、山东等地基层党组织民主评议党员、处置不合格党员的试点探索经验，1988年10月中组部负责人向党中央作汇报，“民主评议党员，是加强基层党员教育、管理和监督的一种行之有效的形式……似可推广，逐步形成制度”。同年12月，中共中央批转了中央组织部《关于建立民主评议党员制度的意见》（以下简称《意见》），并强调，“建立民主评议党员制度，是从严治党，提高党员素质的一项重要措施，是通过制度建设加强对党员进行经常性教育、管理和监督的有效方法”。这便为民主评议在全党范围内定期开展提供了党内法规依据。该《意见》还指出了民主评议的目的，即“检查和评价每个党员在坚持党的基本路线的实践中，特别是在当前治理经济环境、整顿经济秩序、全面深化改革中发挥先锋模范作用的情况，表彰优秀党员，推动清除腐败分子和处置不合格党员的工作，提高党员素质，增强党组织的凝聚力和战斗力”。从这里可以看出，民主评议的主要目的是考察共产党员的思想政治素质，在目标导向上与政治体检具有同向性；民主评议的基本内容围绕着党员的政治立场、先锋作用以及政治素质等多个方面展开，在具体内容上与政治体检具有贯通性。这一历史时期中国共产党不断提高对“民主评议”的重视程度，实际上反映了政治体检概念相较于前一历史时期在中国共产党人的思想观念中发生了转变。实践中，中国共产党的各级组织通过开展经常性民主评议来发现和解决共产党员的政治思想问题，不仅改变了过去运动式政治体检实践存在的风行一时、时断时续的弊端，而且能够与党内政治生活有机结合起来，充分尊重党员权利，发扬党内民主，较为客观、准确地反映真实情况，为党组织增添了进一步推进自我革命的驱动力、凝聚力以及战斗力。

“Self-examination against standards,” as the name implies, means checking one’s own problems against standards. During the new period of reform and opening up and socialist modernization, this discursive expression frequently appeared in important speeches by Party leaders and in intra-Party regulations and systems, guiding Communist Party members to examine their own political and ideological problems against Party member standards. In February 1980, the “Guiding Principles for Inner-Party Political Life” adopted at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee proposed that all Party members “should examine their own work and style against the provisions of the ‘Guiding Principles’.” In October 1990, the “Opinions of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC on Strengthening Party Conduct and Clean Government Construction” pointed out that it was necessary to “conduct self-examination against standards in the spirit of rectification, to see what has been achieved and what has not yet been achieved, especially to identify existing problems, study measures to solve them, and make a comprehensive summary.” In January 1996, Jiang Zemin emphasized in his important speech “Strengthening and Improving Inner-Party Supervision” that “every Party member and cadre must always remember that they are a Communist Party member, always think of the responsibilities and obligations they should fulfill, and frequently conduct self-examination against the Party Constitution and various inner-Party regulations.” During this historical period, Communist Party members had clearer reference standards for examining and reflecting on their own political and ideological problems, such as intra-Party regulations, the political standards in the “Three Emphases” education [13]13 The “Three Emphases” education (三讲教育), launched in 1998, was a Party-wide campaign emphasizing “emphasize learning, emphasize politics, emphasize integrity” (讲学习、讲政治、讲正气) aimed at improving the conduct of leading cadres., and the important thought of the “Three Represents” [14]14 The “Three Represents” (三个代表) is a guiding theory attributed to Jiang Zemin, stating that the Party must always represent the development of China’s advanced productive forces, the direction of China’s advanced culture, and the fundamental interests of the broadest majority of the Chinese people.. The frequent appearance of the discursive expression “self-examination against standards” further confirmed that during this historical period, the Party effectively promoted the clarification of political health check standards. In practice, Communist Party members conducting self-examination and self-correction against various Party member standards was undoubtedly an efficient way of conducting a political health check. In the process of “self-examination against standards,” Communist Party members could more intuitively discover the gap between their own political cognition and various political standards, and precisely locate deep-seated political and ideological problems. Relying on self-examination against standards, self-reflection, and active error correction to strengthen political identity, this approach, compared to passively receiving political education, was more likely to guide them to internalize various political standards. Furthermore, “self-examination against standards” also helped Communist Party members break their own cognitive rigidity, proactively discover problems and correct mistakes, avoid falling into rigidity in political cognition, and cultivate sharp self-examination capabilities and sustained self-correction capabilities.

“对照检查”，顾名思义即对照标准检查自身问题。在改革开放和社会主义现代化建设新时期，这一话语表达频繁出现在党的领导人重要讲话以及党内法规制度之中，引领着共产党员对照党员标准检验自身政治思想问题。1980年2月，党的十一届五中全会通过的《关于党内政治生活的若干准则》提出，全体党员“要对照《准则》的规定，认真检查自己的工作和作风”。1990年10月，《中共中央纪委关于加强党风和廉政建设的意见》指出，要“以整风的精神进行对照检查，哪些做到了，哪些还没有做到，特别要找准存在的问题，研究解决的措施，作出全面的总结”。1996年1月，江泽民在《加强和健全党内监督》重要讲话中强调，“每个党员干部都要切记自己是一名共产党员，时刻想到应尽的责任和义务，经常按照党章和党内的各项规定对照检查”。这一历史时期，共产党员审视、反思自身政治思想问题有了诸如党内法规、“三讲”教育中的政治标准以及“三个代表”重要思想等更加明晰的参照标准。“对照检查”这一话语表达的频繁出现，进一步印证了这一历史时期中国共产党切实推进了政治体检标准的明确化。实践中，共产党员对照各项党员标准自查自纠，这无疑是一种高效的政治体检方式。在“对照检查”过程中，共产党员能较为直观地发现自身政治认知与各项政治标准之间的差距，精准定位内心深处的政治思想问题。共产党员凭借着对照检查、自我反思、主动纠错来强化政治认同，这种做法相较于让他们被动地接受政治教育，更容易引导他们将各项政治标准内化于心。此外，“对照检查”还有助于共产党员打破自身认知固化，主动发现问题、纠正错误，避免自身在政治认知上陷入僵化，培养出敏锐的自我检视能力和持续的自我纠错能力。

After reform and opening up, the Party organized and carried out several centralized inner-Party education activities, such as the “Three Emphases” education and the Party’s advanced nature education. In these several centralized inner-Party education activities, “Party spirit analysis” was explicitly designated as a necessary link, used to examine the political performance, ideological state, and work style quality of Party members, becoming one of the main discursive expressions of the political health check concept during this period. In November 1998, the “Opinions of the CPC Central Committee on Deeply Carrying out Party Spirit and Party Conduct Education with ‘Emphasize Learning, Emphasize Politics, Emphasize Integrity’ as the Main Content among Leading Bodies and Leading Cadres at and above the County Level,” when emphasizing the principles of the “Three Emphases” education, pointed out that “it is necessary to base it on ideological education, combining Party spirit analysis, self-examination and self-correction with democratic appraisal.” In June 1999, Jiang Zemin, in his speech “The ‘Three Emphases’ Education is a New Exploration in Strengthening Party Building,” required “leading cadres at the provincial and ministerial level to take the lead, earnestly examining and listing their prominent problems in Party spirit and Party conduct.” In November 2004, the “Opinions of the CPC Central Committee on Carrying out Education Activities to Maintain the Advanced Nature of Communist Party Members with the Practice of the Important Thought of the ‘Three Represents’ as the Main Content across the Entire Party” explicitly designated “analysis and appraisal” as the main task of the second stage among the three stages of the advanced nature education activities, and also required that “those with writing ability should write Party spirit analysis materials.” It can be seen that during the new period of reform and opening up and socialist modernization, the Party made a series of theoretical and practical explorations to strengthen Party members’ Party spirit analysis, and also issued a series of intra-Party regulations specifically for establishing and improving the Party spirit analysis system. “Party spirit” refers to the characteristics and nature that distinguish Party members from members of other political parties or social groups. Fundamentally, the most prominent marker of “Party spirit” lies in political stance and class attribute; different political stances and class attributes distinguish people with different Party spirits. The Party’s conduct of Party spirit analysis is, in essence, to identify the political and ideological problems of Communist Party members, and on this basis, strengthen Party spirit exercise and Party spirit cultivation. This undoubtedly made sufficient theoretical and practical preparations for the formal emergence of the political health check concept.

改革开放后，中国共产党组织开展了诸如“三讲”教育、党的先进性教育等多次党内集中教育活动。在这几次党内集中教育活动中，“党性分析”被明确为必要环节之一，用以考察党员的政治表现、思想状况以及作风品质，成为这一时期政治体检概念的主要话语表达之一。1998年11月，《中共中央关于在县级以上党政领导班子、领导干部中深入开展以“讲学习、讲政治、讲正气”为主要内容的党性党风教育的意见》在强调“三讲”教育原则时指出，“要立足于思想教育，把党性分析、自查自纠与民主评议结合起来”。1999年6月，江泽民在《“三讲”教育是加强党的建设的新探索》讲话中要求“省部级领导干部带头，认真查摆自己在党性党风方面存在的突出问题”。2004年11月，《中共中央关于在全党开展以实践“三个代表”重要思想为主要内容的保持共产党员先进性教育活动的意见》明确将“分析评议”列为先进性教育活动三阶段中第二阶段的主要任务，还要求“有书写能力的要撰写党性分析材料”。可见，改革开放和社会主义现代化建设新时期中国共产党为加强党员党性分析，作出了一系列理论与实践探索，还专门为建立完善党性分析制度发布了一系列党内法规。而“党性”指的是政党成员区别于其他政党成员或社会群体的特性和本性，从根本上来看，“党性”最突出的标识就在于政治立场和阶级属性，不同的政治立场和阶级属性将不同党性的人区别开来。中国共产党开展党性分析，实际上就是在查找共产党员的政治思想问题，并在此基础上加强党性锻炼和党性修养。这无疑为政治体检概念的正式出场做足了理论与实践上的准备。

V. Multiple Discursive Innovations of the Political Health Check Concept in the New Era

五、新时代政治体检概念的多重话语创新

In the New Era, the Party formally proposed the concept of the political health check, endowing it with more scientific and richer connotations from multiple dimensions such as value, normativity, and practicality, achieving multiple discursive innovations of the political health check concept.

新时代，中国共产党正式提出了政治体检概念，从价值性、规范性、实践性等多重向度赋予了政治体检概念更加科学而丰富的内涵，实现了政治体检概念的多重话语创新。

First, in the value dimension, the functional positioning of the political health check has been further clarified. Under the changes unseen in a century, the CPC faces an increasingly severe and complex governing environment, urgently requiring the spirit of cutting off one’s own wrist to advance the Party’s self-revolution. [15]15 “Cutting off one’s own wrist” (壮士断腕) is a Chinese idiom meaning to take decisive and painful action to remedy a grave situation, often used in CPC discourse to describe the Party’s determination to reform itself. On this basis, the CPC has in the New Era come to a deeper recognition of the unique functional value of the political health check. First, for individual Party members, conducting political health checks helps them “sweep away political dust, purify the political soul, and enhance political immunity.” In September 2020, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee issued the “Opinions on Consolidating and Deepening the Achievements of the ‘Remain True to Our Original Aspiration and Keep Our Mission Firmly in Mind’ Thematic Education,” emphasizing the need to “make the political health check an important pathway for Party members and cadres to consciously sweep away ideological and political dust and continuously enhance political immunity.” Party members who regularly conduct political health checks with a problem-oriented approach can better identify their own political and ideological issues, preventing the emergence of erroneous ideological tendencies such as disregarding politics, downplaying politics, or even neglecting politics. Second, for inner-Party political life, conducting political health checks helps “develop a positive and healthy inner-Party political culture.” To improve the quality of inner-Party political life, one must take a clear stand on politics. Examining Party members’ political character through political health checks, and on this basis strengthening targeted political education for Party members, helps prevent inner-Party political life from becoming entertainment-oriented, formalistic, or arbitrary. Third, for the Party organization’s selection and appointment of personnel, conducting political health checks helps the Party organization select and appoint the right people. In August 2018, at an important speech at the Party building conference of the Central Military Commission, General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed: “We must strengthen loyalty identification and political investigation, thoroughly expelling those who are disloyal and dishonest from the revolutionary ranks, ensuring that the gun barrel is firmly held in the hands of those absolutely loyal to the Party.” The CPC possesses lofty political ideals and strict political discipline; in selecting and appointing personnel, political standards must be placed first. By conducting political health checks, focusing on examining Party members and cadres from a political perspective, the Party organization can fundamentally improve the precision of personnel selection and appointment, providing talent support for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

首先，在价值向度进一步阐明了政治体检的功能定位。世界百年未有之大变局下，中国共产党面临着愈加严峻、复杂的执政环境，亟须以壮士断腕的精神进一步推进党的自我革命。基于此，中国共产党在新时代更加深刻认识到政治体检的独有功能价值。其一，对于共产党员个体而言，开展政治体检有利于共产党员“打扫政治灰尘，净化政治灵魂，增强政治免疫力”。2020年9月，中共中央办公厅发布《关于巩固深化“不忘初心、牢记使命”主题教育成果的意见》，强调要“把政治体检作为党员、干部自觉打扫思想政治灰尘、不断增强政治免疫力的重要途径”。共产党员带着问题导向经常性开展政治体检，有助于他们更好查找自身政治思想问题，防止出现不讲政治、淡化政治甚至是忽视政治的错误思想倾向出现。其二，对于党内政治生活而言，开展政治体检有利于“发展积极健康的党内政治文化”。提高党内政治生活质量，必须旗帜鲜明讲政治。通过政治体检来考察党员政治品质，并在此基础上有针对性地加强党员政治教育，有助于防止党内政治生活出现娱乐化、形式化、随意化倾向。其三，对于党组织选人用人而言，开展政治体检有利于党组织选好人、用对人。2018年8月，习近平总书记在中央军委党的建设会议上的重要讲话中强调：“要加强忠诚度鉴别和政治考察，把那些不忠诚、不老实的人从革命队伍中彻底清除出去，确保枪杆子牢牢掌握在对党绝对忠诚的人手中。”中国共产党具有崇高的政治理想和严明的政治纪律，选人用人必须把政治标准放在首位。通过开展政治体检，着重从政治上对党员干部进行考察，能够帮助党组织从根本上提高选人用人的精准度，为实现中华民族伟大复兴提供人才支撑。

Second, in the normative dimension, the inspection standards for political health checks have been further clarified. “Norm” implies guidance and demonstration, and also contains the meaning of constraint. “Governing the Party by rules, as the basic content and basic method of comprehensive and strict governance of the Party in the New Era, belongs to the ‘bottom-line thinking’ of comprehensive and strict governance of the Party.” Whether a political health check is normative depends crucially on whether it has clear inspection standards. In January 2020, in his speech at the summary meeting of the “Remain True to Our Original Aspiration and Keep Our Mission Firmly in Mind” thematic education, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “We must educate and guide Party organizations at all levels and the vast number of Party members and cadres to regularly conduct ideological and political health checks, ‘benchmarking’ against the requirements of the Party Central Committee, ‘scanning’ with the Party Constitution and Party regulations, ‘seeing through’ with the new expectations of the people, and ‘comparing’ with the forebears, martyrs, and advanced models.” It can be seen that, with the gradual deepening and comprehensive unfolding of theoretical and practical exploration of political health checks in the New Era, the CPC has already formed a clear and specific understanding of the inspection standards for political health checks. First, the requirements of the Party Central Committee and the standards of the Party Constitution and Party regulations. In January 2013, General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed: “Every Party member, especially leading cadres, must firmly establish Party Constitution awareness, consciously use the Party Constitution to regulate their every word and action, and under any circumstances ensure that political faith does not change, political stance does not waver, and political direction does not deviate.” To ensure that Party members do not develop political and ideological problems, they must, first, listen to the Party and follow the Party, strictly abiding by the Party Constitution and Party regulations. In the practice of political health checks, the requirements of the Party Central Committee and the Party Constitution and Party regulations are the primary standards for judging Party members’ political character; Party members must benchmark against the requirements of the Party Central Committee and the Party Constitution and Party regulations to excavate and examine their own political and ideological problems. Second, the requirements and expectations of the people. Whether Party members have political and ideological problems is ultimately manifested through the actual work in which Party members participate, and is perceived and evaluated by the broad masses of the people. Therefore, whether Party members can consistently uphold the interests of the people and adhere to the people’s standpoint in actual work must be one of the core standards of the political health check. Third, the glorious deeds of forebears, martyrs, and advanced models. The glorious deeds of forebears, martyrs, and advanced models are vivid and lively; using them as standards for political health checks, allowing Party members to engage in self-reflection and self-examination under the inspiration of these glorious deeds, not only has outstanding necessity but also significantly enhances the effectiveness of political health checks.

其次，在规范向度进一步明确了政治体检的检验标准。“规范”意指引领、示范，且含有约束之意。“依规治党作为新时代全面从严治党的基本内容与基本方式，属于全面从严治党的‘底线思维’。”政治体检是否具有规范性，关键在于政治体检是否具有明确的检验标准。2020年1月，习近平总书记在“不忘初心、牢记使命”主题教育总结大会上的讲话中指出：“要教育引导各级党组织和广大党员、干部经常进行思想政治体检，同党中央要求‘对标’，拿党章党规‘扫描’，用人民群众新期待‘透视’，同先辈先烈、先进典型‘对照’。”可见，随着新时代政治体检理论与实践探索的逐渐深入和全面展开，中国共产党已经对政治体检检验标准有了清晰而具体的认识。一是党中央要求和党章党规标准。2013年1月，习近平总书记强调：“每一个共产党员特别是领导干部都要牢固树立党章意识，自觉用党章规范自己的一言一行，在任何情况下都要做到政治信仰不变、政治立场不移、政治方向不偏。”共产党员要确保自身不出现政治思想问题，一是要做到听党话、跟党走，严格遵守党章党规。在政治体检实践中，党中央要求和党章党规是评判党员政治品质的首要标准，共产党员必须对照党中央要求和党章党规来挖掘、审视自身政治思想问题。二是人民群众的要求与期待。共产党员是否存在政治思想问题最终要通过共产党员参与的实际工作呈现出来，为广大人民群众所感知和评价。因此，共产党员能否在实际工作中始终维护人民利益、坚持人民立场，这必须作为政治体检的核心标准之一。三是先辈先烈、先进典型的光辉事迹。先辈先烈、先进典型的光辉事迹鲜活而生动，将其作为政治体检标准，让共产党员在光辉事迹的感召下进行自我反思、自我审视，这种做法不仅具有突出必要性，而且显著增强了政治体检实效性。

Finally, in the practical dimension, the methods and approaches of political health checks have been further revealed. In practice, how specifically should political health checks be conducted? The CPC in the New Era has made targeted responses to this core issue, further enriching the discursive connotation of the concept of political health checks. First, political health checks are conducted by deepening political inspection tours. In his report to the 19th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “We will deepen political inspection tours, adhere to the principle of discovering problems and forming deterrence without wavering, and establish a supervision network with coordinated efforts between inspection tours and disciplinary inspections.” [16]16 Political inspection tours (政治巡视) are a system of top-down supervision within the CPC, where central or higher-level Party bodies send inspection teams to lower-level Party organizations to check compliance with Party discipline and policies. Conducting political health checks by deepening political inspection tours, comprehensively and thoroughly identifying political and ideological problems within the Party membership, is one of the effective methods explored by the CPC in the New Era. Political inspection tours play a strategic role in political health checks, possessing significant advantages over other methods of political health checks. On the one hand, conducting political health checks by deepening political inspection tours enhances the authority of political health check practices. The various levels of institutions for political inspection tours conduct political health checks on the Party organizations under their management from top to bottom; compared with conducting political health checks within the Party organization itself, this is more authoritative. On the other hand, conducting political health checks by deepening political inspection tours enhances the deterrent force of political health check practices. In political inspection tours, the subject and object of the political health check do not belong to the same organization or system, so there is no subordinate or personal relationship; this eliminates many uncertain factors that could interfere with the process and results of the political health check, thereby enhancing its deterrent force. Second, political health checks are conducted by carrying out organizational life. “For a Party member to participate in one high-quality organizational life is equivalent to participating in one political health check, obtaining a Party-nature overhaul that sweeps away dust, purifies the soul, and enhances political immunity.” The Party’s organizational life plays an important role in governing and managing the Party, and is also an important carrier for conducting political health checks. Since Party members within the same Party organization are familiar with each other’s situations, conducting political health checks through various forms of organizational life such as democratic life meetings and heart-to-heart talks makes it easier for Party members to engage in thorough and complete criticism and self-criticism. This undoubtedly helps the Party organization, starting from the daily performance of Party members, to promptly understand the true state of Party members’ political thinking, to integrate learning, investigation, and rectification, and to enhance the quality and effectiveness of political health checks. Third, political health checks are advanced by strengthening mass supervision. Political health checks have profound significance only when they are for the people, and they have lasting momentum only when they rely on the people. “Without the support and endorsement of the people, the Party’s cause and work would be impossible.” Only by advancing political health checks through strengthening mass supervision, fully leveraging the power of mass supervision, mobilizing the enthusiasm and creativity of the people, and continuously broadening the ways and channels for diverse social forces to participate in political health checks, can political and ideological problems that deviate from the Party’s and the people’s standpoints within the Party membership be discovered at the first opportunity, enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of political health checks.

最后，在实践向度进一步揭示了政治体检的方式方法。实践中，政治体检具体该如何开展？新时代中国共产党对这一核心问题作出了针对性回应，进一步丰富了政治体检概念的话语内涵。一是通过深化政治巡视来开展政治体检。习近平总书记在党的十九大报告中指出，要“深化政治巡视，坚持发现问题、形成震慑不动摇，建立巡视巡察上下联动的监督网”。通过深化政治巡视来开展政治体检，全面深入查找党员队伍存在的政治思想问题，这是中国共产党在新时代探索出的有效做法之一。政治巡视对于政治体检而言具有战略性作用，具有不同于其他政治体检方式的显著优势。一方面，通过深化政治巡视来开展政治体检，增强了政治体检实践的权威性。政治巡视的各级机构自上而下地对所管理的党组织开展政治体检，相较于党组织内部开展政治体检，更具有权威性。另一方面，通过深化政治巡视来开展政治体检，增强了政治体检实践的威慑力。在政治巡视中，政治体检的主客体不属于同一个组织或系统，因而不存在隶属关系或人情关系，这就排除了诸多不确定因素干扰政治体检的过程与结果，进而增强政治体检的威慑力。二是通过开展组织生活来进行政治体检。“党员参加一次高质量的组织生活，就等于参加了一次政治体检，获得了一次打扫灰尘、净化灵魂、增强政治免疫力的党性检修。”党的组织生活在管党治党中具有重要作用，也是开展政治体检的重要载体。由于同一党组织内部党员之间彼此熟悉情况，通过开展民主生活会、谈心谈话等形式多样的组织生活来进行政治体检，党员之间更容易进行充分而彻底的批评与自我批评。这无疑有助于党组织从党员的日常表现出发，及时了解党员政治思想真实情况，一体推进学查改，增强政治体检的质量和效果。三是通过强化群众监督来推进政治体检。政治体检为了人民才有深远意义，政治体检依靠人民才有持久动力。“失去了人民拥护和支持，党的事业和工作就无从谈起。”只有通过强化群众监督来推进政治体检，充分发挥群众监督的力量，调动人民群众的积极性和创造性，不断拓宽多元社会力量参与政治体检的方式和渠道，才能第一时间发现党员队伍中存在的背离党和人民立场的政治思想问题，增强政治体检的效率与效果。

Surveying the more-than-century-long process of discursive change and semantic shaping of the Chinese Communist Party’s concept of political health check, we can clearly see the historical picture of the CPC’s strengthening of political construction and promotion of self-revolution over the past hundred-plus years. This precisely verifies that the proposal of the CPC’s concept of political health check did not lack historical sedimentation, but gradually matured through inheritance, innovation, expansion, and deepening. Although the process of innovative development in the theory and practice of the CPC’s political health check has been very tortuous, and there have been some deviations in understanding and a period of detours in history, we must objectively and comprehensively view the century-long exploratory process of the CPC’s political health check, grasp its main theme, main line, mainstream, and essential nature, and scientifically understand the revolutionary significance and political implications unique to the concept of political health check.

纵观中国共产党政治体检概念话语变迁及其语义形塑的百余年历程，我们可以清晰地看到中国共产党百余年来加强政治建设、推动自我革命的历史图景。这恰恰验证了中国共产党政治体检概念的提出并非缺乏历史沉淀，而是在继承创新和拓展深化中逐渐成熟的。中国共产党政治体检理论与实践创新发展过程虽然很曲折，在历史上也曾出现过一些理解偏差，走过一段弯路，但我们必须客观、全面地看待中国共产党政治体检百余年探索历程，把握中国共产党政治体检的主题主线和主流本质，科学理解政治体检概念所特有的革命意义和政治意蕴。