In What Ways Has the Thought of Self-Revolution Inherited and Developed Mao Zedong’s Thought on Party Building

Each era has its defining questions, and each era has its defining thought. The reason Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era has become the Marxism of contemporary China and the Marxism of the twenty-first century, achieving a new leap in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context, lies crucially in the fact that since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, facing new changes in the domestic and international situation and new practical demands, has profoundly answered a series of major epochal questions concerning the development of the Party and the state and the Party’s governance of the country from the combination of theory and practice. One of these landmark and overarching original contributions is the formation and practice of the thought of self-revolution, which has propelled the Party’s long-term exploration of how to break out of the historical cycle of rise and fall, governance and chaos, achieving a historic leap from the first answer to the second answer. [1]1 The “first answer” refers to Mao Zedong’s proposal during the Yan’an period that the way to break out of the historical cycle of rise and fall is for the people to supervise the government, ensuring that the government dare not slack off. The “second answer” refers to Xi Jinping’s proposal The inheritance and development of Mao Zedong’s thought on Party building by the thought of self-revolution is concentrated in the following four aspects.

一个时代有一个时代的标志性问题，一个时代有一个时代标志性的思想。习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想之所以成为当代中国马克思主义、二十一世纪马克思主义，实现马克思主义中国化新的飞跃，关键在于党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央面对国内外形势新变化和实践新要求，从理论和实践的结合上深刻回答了关系党和国家事业发展、党治国理政的一系列重大时代课题。其中一个标志性的事关全局的原创性贡献，就是自我革命思想的形成及其实践，推动党对如何跳出治乱兴衰历史周期率的长期探索，实现从第一个答案到第二个答案的历史性跨越。自我革命思想对毛泽东党的建设思想的继承发展，集中体现在以下四个方面。

It has inherited and developed the view of the people in Mao Zedong’s thought on Party building, better handling the relationship between the Party and the people under the conditions of the New Era.

继承发展了毛泽东党的建设思想的人民观，在新时代条件下更好地处理了党与人民的关系

The hundred-year history of our Party is a history of fulfilling the Party’s original aspiration and founding mission, a history of the Party sharing the same heart, breath, and destiny with the people. Serving the people wholeheartedly is a red thread running through Mao Zedong’s thought on Party building and is also the fundamental position that ensures the Chinese Communist Party remains invincible.

我们党的百年历史，就是一部践行党的初心使命的历史，就是一部党与人民心连心、同呼吸、共命运的历史。全心全意为人民服务，是毛泽东党的建设思想的一条红线，也是中国共产党立于不败之地的根本立场。

The people are our Party’s fundamental starting point. “To serve the people wholeheartedly, never for a moment to separate ourselves from the masses; to proceed in all cases from the interests of the people and not from the interests of individuals or small groups; to identify the responsibility to the people with the responsibility to the leading organs of the Party — these are our starting points.” [2]

人民是我们党的根本出发点。“全心全意地为人民服务，一刻也不脱离群众；一切从人民的利益出发，而不是从个人或小集团的利益出发；向人民负责和向党的领导机关负责的一致性；这些就是我们的出发点。”

The interests of the people are our Party’s highest principle. “All the words and deeds of Communists must be judged by the highest standard, which is whether they conform to the interests of the broadest masses of the people and win their support. Every comrade should understand that as long as we rely on the people, firmly believe in the inexhaustible creative power of the people, and therefore trust the people and become one with them, then any difficulty can be overcome, and no enemy can overwhelm us; on the contrary, we will overwhelm them.” [3]

人民利益是我们党的最高原则。“共产党人的一切言论行动，必须以合乎最广大人民群众的最大利益，为最广大人民群众所拥护为最高标准。应该使每一个同志懂得，只要我们依靠人民，坚决地相信人民群众的创造力是无穷无尽的，因而信任人民，和人民打成一片，那就任何困难也能克服，任何敌人也不能压倒我们，而只会被我们所压倒。”

The mass line is our Party’s fundamental working method. “Twenty-four years of experience tell us that all correct tasks, policies, and styles of work are suited to the demands of the masses at the time and place and are linked with the masses; all mistaken tasks, policies, and styles of work are unsuited to the demands of the masses at the time and place and are divorced from the masses.” [4]

群众路线是我们党的根本工作路线。“二十四年的经验告诉我们，凡属正确的任务、政策和工作作风，都是和当时当地的群众要求相适合，都是联系群众的；凡属错误的任务、政策和工作作风，都是和当时当地的群众要求不相适合，都是脱离群众的。”

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping has solemnly inscribed “upholding the people’s supremacy” on the banner of comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, making the relationship between the Party and the people a fundamental link in the Party’s long-term governance. He requires the entire Party to always remember that the country is the people and the people are the country, always remember the original aspiration and founding mission, and emphasizes that the Party’s roots are in the people, its blood is in the people, and its strength is in the people; the people are the Party’s greatest confidence in governing and rejuvenating the country. The Party’s greatest political advantage is its close ties with the masses, and the greatest danger after the Party comes to power is becoming divorced from the masses. The Party represents the fundamental interests of the broadest majority of the Chinese people, has no special interests of its own, and never represents the interests of any interest groups, any powerful groups, or any privileged strata; this is the fundamental reason the Party remains invincible. Comprehensive and strict governance of the Party must start with the style problems that the masses strongly reflect, winning the trust of the people through vigorous anti-corruption and vigorous opposition to the “four forms of decadence.” [5]

党的十八大以来，习近平总书记把“坚持人民至上”庄严地写在全面从严治党的旗帜上，把党与人民的关系作为党长期执政的根本一环，要求全党始终牢记江山就是人民、人民就是江山，始终牢记初心使命，强调党的根基在人民、血脉在人民、力量在人民，人民是党执政兴国的最大底气。党的最大政治优势是密切联系群众，党执政后的最大危险是脱离群众。党代表中国最广大人民根本利益，没有任何自己特殊的利益，从来不代表任何利益集团、任何权势团体、任何特权阶层的利益，这是党立于不败之地的根本所在。全面从严治党必须从人民群众反映强烈的作风问题抓起，通过强力反腐败、强力反“四风”，取信于民。

It has inherited and developed the view of discipline in Mao Zedong’s thought on Party building, better handling the relationship between Party discipline and national law under the conditions of the New Era.

继承发展了毛泽东党的建设思想的纪律观，在新时代条件下更好地处理了党纪与国法的关系

Strict organizational discipline is a distinctive feature of Mao Zedong’s thought on Party building. In October 1938, Comrade Mao Zedong clearly stated in his report to the Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee: “In view of Zhang Guotao’s serious violations of discipline, the Party’s discipline must be reaffirmed: (1) the individual is subordinate to the organization; (2) the minority is subordinate to the majority; (3) the lower level is subordinate to the higher level; (4) the entire Party is subordinate to the Central Committee. Whoever violates these disciplines undermines the unity of the Party.” [6] “It is necessary to educate Party members about Party discipline, so that ordinary Party members can abide by discipline and also supervise the Party’s leading figures in abiding by discipline, thus avoiding a recurrence of the Zhang Guotao incident. To put inner-Party relations on the right track, in addition to the four most important disciplines mentioned above, a more detailed set of intra-Party regulations must be formulated to unify the actions of leading organs at all levels.” [7]

严明组织纪律，是毛泽东党的建设思想的鲜明特色。1938年10月，毛泽东同志在党的六届六中全会报告中明确指出：“鉴于张国焘严重地破坏纪律的行为，必须重申党的纪律：（一）个人服从组织；（二）少数服从多数；（三）下级服从上级；（四）全党服从中央。谁破坏了这些纪律，谁就破坏了党的统一。”“必须对党员进行有关党的纪律的教育，既使一般党员能遵守纪律，又使一般党员能监督党的领袖人物也一起遵守纪律，避免再发生张国焘事件。为使党内关系走上正轨，除了上述四项最重要的纪律外，还须制定一种较详细的党内法规，以统一各级领导机关的行动。”

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has incorporated discipline building into the overall layout of Party building, insisting that discipline is stricter than law and that discipline comes before law, insisting on the integration of discipline enforcement and law enforcement, insisting on governing the Party according to regulations, strictly abiding by the Party Constitution, forming a relatively complete system of intra-Party regulations, strictly enforcing the system, and significantly improving the scientific, institutionalized, and standardized level of Party building. Strict political discipline and political rules of the Party have driven comprehensive strictness in organizational discipline, integrity discipline, mass discipline, work discipline, and life discipline. Strict discipline regulates the exercise of power by Party cadres, addressing problems early and nipping them in the bud, precisely applying the “four forms,” [8] so that Party cadres can personally feel the Party’s strict management and deep care.

党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央把纪律建设纳入党的建设总体布局，坚持纪严于法、纪在法前，坚持执纪执法贯通，坚持依规治党，严格遵守党章，形成比较完善的党内法规体系，严格制度执行，党的建设科学化、制度化、规范化水平明显提高。严明党的政治纪律和政治规矩，带动组织纪律、廉洁纪律、群众纪律、工作纪律、生活纪律全面从严，以严明纪律规范党员干部履职用权，抓早抓小、防微杜渐，精准运用“四种形态”，让党员干部切身感受到党的严管和厚爱。

With strict discipline, the organization must be strong and powerful. The Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has proposed and adhered to the Party’s organizational line for the New Era, focusing on the construction of the organizational system, strengthening the political and organizational functions of Party organizations, rectifying weak and lax Party organizations, promoting comprehensive progress and comprehensive strength in Party organizations at all levels, adhering to the principle of the Party managing cadres, adhering to the standards for good cadres in the New Era, and striving to cultivate a high-quality cadre contingent that is loyal, clean, and responsible.

纪律严格，组织必须坚强有力。以习近平同志为核心的党中央提出和坚持新时代党的组织路线，以组织体系建设为重点，增强党组织政治功能和组织功能，整顿软弱涣散党组织，推动各级党组织全面进步、全面过硬，坚持党管干部原则，坚持新时代好干部标准，着力培养忠诚干净担当的高素质干部队伍。

It has inherited and developed the ideological Party building in Mao Zedong’s thought on Party building, better handling the relationship between ideological construction, political construction, and institutional construction under the conditions of the New Era.

继承发展了毛泽东党的建设思想的思想建党，在新时代条件下更好地处理了思想建设与政治建设、制度建设的关系

In the process of exploring the Chinese revolutionary path, establishing rural revolutionary base areas, creating the people’s army, and creating a Chinese-style thought on Party building, Comrade Mao Zedong summarized and proposed the successful experience of transforming various non-proletarian elements into staunch proletarian fighters through ideological Party building. Building the Party ideologically means constantly paying attention to transforming and overcoming various non-proletarian ideas with proletarian ideas, so that Party members not only join the Party organizationally but also join the Party ideologically. Comrade Mao Zedong also created the form of rectification campaigns [9] for conducting Marxist-Leninist ideological education throughout the Party through criticism and self-criticism. In response to the “left” errors of “ruthless struggle and merciless blows” that had existed in inner-Party struggles in history, he put forward the correct policy of “learning from past mistakes to avoid future ones and curing the sickness to save the patient,” emphasizing that inner-Party struggle must achieve the goal of both clarifying ideas and uniting comrades. From the Yan’an Rectification Movement onward, our Party has always attached great importance to theoretical arming. Whenever a major historical juncture arises, the Party uses its innovative theory to unify the thinking of the entire Party. Each centralized inner-Party education also insists on making theoretical study the primary task and carrying it through to the end, laying a solid ideological foundation for the unity and solidarity of the entire Party.

毛泽东同志在探索中国革命道路，创建农村革命根据地、创建人民军队、创建中国特色的党的建设思想的过程中，总结提出通过思想建党将各种非无产阶级成分转变为无产阶级坚强战士的成功经验。从思想上建设党，就是要经常注意以无产阶级思想改造和克服各种非无产阶级思想，使党员不但要在组织上入党，而且要在思想上入党。毛泽东同志还创造出在全党通过批评与自我批评进行马克思列宁主义思想教育的整风形式，并针对历史上党内斗争中存在过的“残酷斗争、无情打击”的“左”倾错误，提出“惩前毖后、治病救人”的正确方针，强调在党内斗争中要达到既弄清思想又团结同志的目的。从延安整风起，我们党始终高度重视理论武装，每逢重大历史关头，都要用党的创新理论统一全党思想，每次党内集中教育也都坚持把理论学习作为首要任务并贯穿始终，为全党团结统一奠定坚实思想基础。

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has created the important experience of conducting centralized study and education within the entire Party, making it an important pathway for our Party to advance self-revolution. Our Party has successively organized and carried out the mass line education and practice campaign, the “Three Stricts and Three Honests” [10] special education, the “Two Studies and One Action” [11] study and education, the “Remain True to Our Original Aspiration and Keep Our Mission Firmly in Mind” [12] thematic education, the Party history study and education, and the thematic education on studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. The Party’s creativity, cohesion, and combat effectiveness have been significantly improved, and the Party’s ability to purify, improve, reform, and upgrade itself has been continuously strengthened.

党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央创造出在全党开展集中性学习教育的重要经验，使之成为我们党推进自我革命的重要途径。我们党先后组织开展群众路线教育实践活动、“三严三实”专题教育、“两学一做”学习教育、“不忘初心、牢记使命”主题教育、党史学习教育、学习贯彻习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想主题教育等，党的创造力、凝聚力、战斗力显著提高，党的自我净化、自我完善、自我革新、自我提高能力不断增强。

After the 18th National Congress of the CPC, our Party also put forward the general requirements for Party building in the New Era, taking the Party’s political construction as the lead, comprehensively advancing the Party’s political construction, ideological construction, organizational construction, work style construction, and discipline construction, and integrating institutional construction throughout, ensuring that the entire Party maintains a high degree of consistency with the Party Central Committee in political stance, political direction, political principles, and political path, ensuring the Party’s unity and solidarity, effectively safeguarding the authority of the Party Central Committee and its centralized and unified leadership, deeply comprehending the decisive significance of the “Two Establishments,” [13] and effectively strengthening the “Four Consciousnesses,” [14] consolidating the “Four Confidences,” [15] and achieving the “Two Upholds.” [16]

党的十八大以后，我们党还提出新时代党的建设总要求，以党的政治建设为统领，全面推进党的政治建设、思想建设、组织建设、作风建设、纪律建设，并把制度建设贯穿其中，确保全党在政治立场、政治方向、政治原则、政治道路上同党中央保持高度一致，确保党的团结统一，切实维护党中央权威和集中统一领导，深刻领悟“两个确立”的决定性意义，切实增强“四个意识”、坚定“四个自信”、做到“两个维护”。

It has inherited and developed Mao Zedong’s thought on Party building regarding the “Two Musts” [1]1 The “first answer” refers to Mao Zedong’s proposal during the Yan’an period that the way to break out of the historical cycle of rise and fall is for the people to supervise the government, ensuring that the government dare not slack off. The “second answer” refers to Xi Jinping’s proposal, and under the conditions of the New Era has better handled the relationship between self-revolution and social revolution.

继承发展了毛泽东党的建设思想的“两个务必”思想，在新时代条件下更好地处理了自我革命与社会革命的关系

At the moment when the Chinese revolution was about to triumph, at the critical juncture when the Chinese Communist Party was about to become the ruling party, Comrade Mao Zedong foresightedly put forward the demand of the “Two Musts” to the whole Party, namely, “Comrades must be made to continue to maintain the style of being modest, prudent, and free from arrogance and rashness; comrades must be made to continue to maintain the style of hard struggle.”

在中国革命即将胜利之时，在中国共产党即将成为执政党的关键时刻，毛泽东同志预见性地向全党提出了“两个务必”的要求，即“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”。

The contemporary value and far-reaching significance of the “Two Musts” are, as General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “This contains a profound reference to the laws of order and chaos in China’s several thousand years of history, a profound summary of our Party’s arduous and extraordinary struggle, a profound concern for the victorious Party to forever preserve its advanced nature and purity and for the soon-to-be-born people’s political power to achieve long-term stability, and a profound understanding of our Party’s fundamental purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly. Its ideological and historical significance is extremely far-reaching.”

“两个务必”的当代价值和深远意义，正如习近平总书记指出：“这里面，包含着对我国几千年历史治乱规律的深刻借鉴，包含着对我们党艰苦卓绝奋斗历程的深刻总结，包含着对胜利了的政党永葆先进性和纯洁性、对即将诞生的人民政权实现长治久安的深刻忧思，包含着对我们党坚持全心全意为人民服务根本宗旨的深刻认识，思想意义和历史意义十分深远。”

Reviewing this history, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Our Party has such a long history, such a large scale, and has been in power for so long. How can it break out of the historical cycle of rise and fall? Comrade Mao Zedong gave the first answer in the cave dwellings of Yan’an, which was ‘Only by letting the people supervise the government will the government not dare to slack off.’ After a century of struggle, especially the new practice since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, our Party has given the second answer, which is self-revolution.” [2]

回顾这段历史，习近平总书记指出：“我们党历史这么长、规模这么大、执政这么久，如何跳出治乱兴衰的历史周期率？毛泽东同志在延安的窑洞里给出了第一个答案，这就是‘只有让人民来监督政府，政府才不敢松懈’。经过百年奋斗特别是党的十八大以来新的实践，我们党又给出了第二个答案，这就是自我革命。”

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, our Party has exercised comprehensive and strict governance of the Party with unprecedented courage and resolve, put together a set of “combined punches” for self-revolution, and formed a complete system of institutional norms for the Party’s self-purification, self-improvement, self-innovation, and self-enhancement. In response to prominent problems such as the “seven have-somes” [3], which have seriously affected the Party’s image and prestige and seriously damaged Party-mass and cadre-mass relations, we have adhered to the main tone of strictness, strengthened disciplinary inspection, accountability, and punishment, grasped the “key minority” [4], and the Party has become stronger through revolutionary tempering. In particular, with the determination to use strong medicine to cure the disease and heavy punishment to bring order, and with the courage to scrape the poison off the bone and cut off the wrist of the brave, we have unswervingly “caged the tigers,” “swatted the flies,” and “hunted the foxes” [5], eliminating serious hidden dangers within the Party, the state, and the military. Among so many ruling parties in the world, how many dare to fight corruption on such a large scale, with such intensity, and unremittingly like our Party? Some people extol the Western system of multi-party rotation and “separation of the three powers” [6], and do not believe that our Party can turn its blade inward and cut away its own rotten flesh. The Chinese Communist Party’s practice of courageous self-revolution has given them a loud and forceful answer.

党的十八大以来，我们党以前所未有的勇气和定力全面从严治党，打了一套自我革命的“组合拳”，形成了一整套党自我净化、自我完善、自我革新、自我提高的制度规范体系。针对“七个有之”等严重影响党的形象和威信、严重损害党群干群关系的突出问题，我们坚持严的主基调，强化监督执纪问责，抓住“关键少数”，党在革命性锻造中更加坚强。特别是我们党以猛药去疴、重典治乱的决心，以刮骨疗毒、壮士断腕的勇气，坚定不移“打虎”“拍蝇”“猎狐”，清除了党、国家、军队内部存在的严重隐患。世界上那么多执政党，有几个敢像我们党这样大规模、大力度、坚持不懈反腐败？有些人吹捧西方多党轮流执政、“三权鼎立”那一套，不相信我们党能够刀刃向内、自剜腐肉，中国共产党勇于自我革命的实践给了他们响亮有力的回答。

Our Party has gone through a century, achieved brilliant successes, and received much praise from inside and outside the Party, at home and abroad. The more this is the case, the more we must carry forward the spirit of self-revolution, and we must never lose ourselves amid a chorus of applause. We must always bear in mind General Secretary Xi Jinping’s demand: “We must not forget or lose memory of the det

我们党历经百年、成就辉煌，党内党外、国内国外赞扬声很多。越是这样越要发扬自我革命精神，千万不能在一片喝彩声中迷失自我。我们要时刻牢记习近平总书记的要求：“对党的历史上走过的弯路、经历的曲折不能健忘失忆，对中外政治史上那些安于现状、死于安乐的深刻教训不能健忘失忆；对自身存在的问题不能反应迟钝，处理动作慢腾腾、软绵绵，最终人亡政息！要以伟大自我革命引领伟大社会革命，以伟大社会革命促进伟大自我革命，确保党在新时代坚持和发展中国特色社会主义的历史进程中始终成为坚强领导核心。”

(The author is a Distinguished Researcher at the Mao Zedong Thought Research Center of Xiangtan University and former President of the Qiushi Journal.)

（作者系湘潭大学毛泽东思想研究中心特邀研究员、《求是》杂志社原社长）

Online editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧