The Fourfold Purport of Emancipating the Mind

Emancipating the mind, seeking truth from facts, and keeping pace with the times are the living soul of Marxism and our fundamental ideological weapon for adapting to new situations, understanding new things, and completing new tasks. Emancipating the mind is the master switch for liberating and developing the social productive forces, and for unleashing and enhancing social vitality. In the critical period of advancing comprehensive and deepening reform, it is all the more necessary to emancipate the mind boldly and continuously.

解放思想、实事求是、与时俱进，是马克思主义活的灵魂，是我们适应新形势、认识新事物、完成新任务的根本思想武器。解放思想是解放和发展社会生产力、解放和增强社会活力的总开关。在推进全面深化改革的关键时期，更要大胆、持续地解放思想。

Emancipating the mind aims to break the force of habit and subjective prejudice. Emancipating the mind means breaking the shackles of the force of habit and subjective prejudice, combining the thinking and consciousness of the subjective world with the changed objective reality, overcoming those “habitual ways of thinking” and “subjective prejudices” that do not conform to reality, and arming the mind with new ideas so as to cognize the objective world, thereby studying new situations and solving new problems. Group force of habit is a stumbling block to social reform and development. As Lenin said, “The force of habit of millions and tens of millions is a most terrible force.” [1]1 V. I. Lenin, “Left-Wing” Communism, an Infantile Disorder (1920). The force of habit and subjective prejudice easily lead to rigid thinking, dogmatism, and sticking to old ways, thereby turning people into diehards or frogs at the bottom of a well. [2]2 “Frog at the bottom of a well” (井底之蛙) is a Chinese idiom from the Zhuangzi, referring to someone with a very narrow outlook. Mao Zedong said long ago, “Once the mind is fixed, it becomes very dangerous.” [3]3 Mao Zedong, “Speech at the Lushan Conference” (1959). If a party, a country, or a nation has rigid thinking and proceeds from nothing but bookish dogma, it cannot advance, its vitality ceases, and it will bring ruin to the party and the state; conversely, only by continuing to advance the emancipation of the mind can we proceed from objective reality, stimulate vitality, and revitalize the party and strengthen the state.

解放思想旨在打破习惯势力和主观偏见。解放思想就是要打破习惯势力和主观偏见的束缚，把主观世界的思维意识与变化了的客观实际结合起来，克服那些不符合实际的“习惯思维”和“主观偏见”，用新思想武装头脑，认知客观世界，从而研究新情况，解决新问题。群体性的习惯势力是社会改革与发展的绊脚石，正如列宁所言：“千百万人的习惯势力是最可怕的势力。”习惯势力与主观偏见容易导致思想僵化、教条主义、因循守旧，从而使人变成顽固分子或井底之蛙。毛泽东很早就说过“脑子一固定，就很危险”。一个党，一个国家，一个民族，如果思想僵化，一切从本本出发，那它就不能前进，它的生机就停止了，就要亡党亡国；反之，只有继续推进解放思想，才能从客观实际出发，才能激发生机活力，才能兴党强国。

Emancipating the mind aims to break through ideological obstacles and solidified interests. General Secretary Xi Jinping points out: “To break through the obstacles of ideological concepts and the barriers of solidified interests, emancipating the mind is the primary task.” [4]4 Xi Jinping, “Speech at the Second Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the CPC” (2013). If the mind is not emancipated, it is difficult to break free from the shackles of traditional ideological concepts, difficult to correctly judge the current reality and objective practice — without breaking the old, it is hard to establish the new; if the mind is not emancipated, it is difficult to see clearly the crux of various solidified interests, difficult to identify the direction and focal points for breakthroughs. Contemporary China is undergoing the most grand and unique practical innovation in human history. The weight of the tasks of reform, development, and stability, the multitude of contradictions, risks, and challenges, the magnitude of the tests of governance — all are unprecedented; the profound changes in the world unseen in a century are unprecedented; the difficulties and perils in realizing the Second Centenary Goal [5]5 The Second Centenary Goal refers to building China into a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, and harmonious by the middle of the 21st century, the centenary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. are unprecedented. More than at any time in history, we need to emancipate the mind, dare to try and to break new ground, and boldly innovate; more than at any time in history, we need to use ideological ice-breaking to lead reform breakthroughs. Through emancipating the mind, we must effectively free ourselves from established thinking patterns and path dependence, free ourselves from the barriers of vested interests and solidified interests, free ourselves from departmentalism and involution-style vicious competition, [6]6 “Involution” (内卷) is a term widely used in contemporary Chinese discourse to describe excessive, unproductive competition within a closed system. free ourselves from the fear of looking forward and backward and of being afraid of this and that, free ourselves from the work state of being content with the middle and lying flat in laziness, [7]7 “Lying flat” (躺平) is a Chinese slang term for a passive, disengaged attitude toward work and life, often seen as a response to social pressures. breaking the old and establishing the new, breaking the old to establish the new, promoting capacity enhancement, style transformation, and work implementation through ideological emancipation.

解放思想旨在冲破思想障碍和利益固化。习近平总书记指出：“冲破思想观念的障碍、突破利益固化的藩篱，解放思想是首要的。”思想不解放，就很难冲破传统思想观念的束缚，很难正确判断当前的实际和客观的实践，不破难立；思想不解放，就很难看清各种利益固化的症结，很难找准突破的方向和着力点。当代中国正在经历人类历史上最为宏大而独特的实践创新，改革发展稳定任务之重、矛盾风险挑战之多、治国理政考验之大都前所未有，世界百年未有之大变局深刻变化前所未有，实现第二个百年奋斗目标艰难险阻前所未有，比历史上任何时候都需要解放思想、敢闯敢试、大胆创新，比历史上任何时候都需要以思想破冰引领改革突围。通过解放思想，切实从既有的思维定势和路径依赖中解放出来，从既得利益与利益固化的藩篱中解放出来，从本位主义和内卷式恶性竞争中解放出来，从瞻前顾后和怕这怕那的畏难情绪中解放出来，从甘居中游和慵懒平躺的工作状态中解放出来，有破有立、破旧立新，以思想解放促进能力提升、作风转变和工作落实。

Emancipating the mind aims to unify thinking and advance theoretical transformation. General Secretary Xi Jinping points out: “The process of emancipating the mind is the process of unifying thinking; the purpose of emancipating the mind is to better unify thinking. Only when thinking is unified can we maximize the convergence of reform consensus and form a joint force for reform.” [8]8 Xi Jinping, “Speech at the Second Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the CPC” (2013). The greatest common divisor of social members and the greatest resultant force of social development depend on unified thinking based on the emancipation of the mind. Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is the Marxism of contemporary China and the Marxism of the 21st century, the essence of the times of Chinese culture and the Chinese spirit, and has achieved a new leap in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times. This thought firmly bases itself on China’s reality while looking out at the world today; it both steadfastly safeguards China’s core interests and promotes the common development of the world; it both seeks happiness for the Chinese people and seeks development for the people of the world; it both seeks rejuvenation for the Chinese nation and contributes to the cause of human progress; it is both a guide to action for the Chinese people and a common intellectual asset for all humanity. Therefore, thinking must be unified in a profound cognition of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, unified in the effect of the continuous deepening, internalization, and transformation of the Party’s innovative theory, persistently armed with the Party’s innovative theory of the New Era, using the lofty faith, righteous spirit, and power of character contained therein to raise consciousness and realm, transform the subjective world, and form the greatest consensus and cohesion.

解放思想旨在统一思想和推进理论转化。习近平总书记指出：“解放思想的过程就是统一思想的过程，解放思想的目的是为了更好统一思想。思想统一了，才能最大限度凝聚改革共识，形成改革合力。”社会成员的最大公约数和社会发展的最大合力依赖于解放思想基础上的统一思想。习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想是当代中国马克思主义、21世纪马克思主义，是中华文化和中国精神的时代精华，实现了马克思主义中国化时代化新的飞跃。这一思想，牢牢立足中国实际又放眼当今世界，既坚定维护中国的核心利益又推动世界的共同发展，既为中国人民谋幸福又为世界人民谋发展，既为中华民族谋复兴也为人类进步事业作贡献，既是中国人民的行动指南也是全人类共同的思想财富。因此，思想必须统一到对习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想的深刻认知上来，统一到党的创新理论不断深化内化转化的效果上来，坚持不懈用新时代党的创新理论武装头脑，用蕴含其中的崇高信仰、浩然正气、人格力量提高觉悟和境界，改造主观世界，形成最大的共识与凝聚力。

Emancipating the mind aims to better seek truth from facts and solve problems. General Secretary Xi Jinping points out: “We must adhere to the organic unity of emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts,” and “the purpose of emancipating the mind is to better seek truth from facts.” [9]9 Xi Jinping, “Speech at the Celebration of the 40th Anniversary of Reform and Opening Up” (2018). Emancipating the mind aims to better understand the world, so as to better transform the world; to better summarize laws, so as to better act in accordance with laws; to better innovate theory, so as to better guide practical work. History has repeatedly proven that practical development has no end, theoretical innovation has no end, and the emancipation of the mind has no end. In “Reform Our Study,” Mao Zedong explained the two layers of meaning contained in seeking truth from facts: first, seeking truth from facts means that Marxism-Leninism must be integrated with the reality of the Chinese revolution; second, the purpose of seeking truth from facts is to solve the practical problems of the Chinese revolution. [10]10 Mao Zedong, “Reform Our Study” (1941). Emancipating the mind is both about better seeking truth from facts and about better solving practical problems. Therefore, emancipating the mind must adhere to a problem-oriented approach, from the dimensions of historical span, temporal direction, and spatial scope, focusing on solving the major problems of reform and opening up and socialist modernization in the New Era, continuously answering China’s questions; focusing on solving the various major risks and challenges in the world undergoing changes unseen in a century, continuously answering the world’s questions; focusing on the urgent, difficult, and anxious problems in the real lives of hundreds of millions of people, continuously answering the people’s questions; focusing on the things we are doing and those bottleneck problems that have long constrained development, continuously answering the questions of the times. We must make correct answers that conform to China’s reality and the requirements of the times, arrive at scientific understandings that conform to objective laws, form theoretical results that keep pace with the times, and better guide China’s practice.

解放思想旨在更好实事求是和解决问题。习近平总书记指出：“要坚持解放思想和实事求是的有机统一”，“解放思想的目的在于更好实事求是”。解放思想，在于更好地认识世界，从而更好地改造世界；在于更好地总结规律，从而更好地按规律办事；在于更好地创新理论，从而更好地指导实践工作。历史反复证明，实践发展永无止境，理论创新永无止境，解放思想永无止境。毛泽东在《改造我们的学习》中，阐释了实事求是蕴含的两层意思：其一，实事求是就是必须将马克思列宁主义与中国革命实际相结合；其二，实事求是的目的在于解决中国革命的实际问题。解放思想既是更好地实事求是，也是更好地解决实际问题。因此，解放思想要坚持问题导向，从历史跨度上、时间向度上、空间维度上，着眼解决新时代改革开放和社会主义现代化建设的重大问题，不断回答中国之问；着眼解决世界百年未有之大变局中的各类重大风险挑战，不断回答世界之问；着眼亿万人民急难愁盼的现实生活问题，不断回答人民之问；着眼我们正在做的事情和那些长期制约发展的瓶颈性问题，不断回答时代之问。作出符合中国实际和时代要求的正确回答，得出符合客观规律的科学认识，形成与时俱进的理论成果，更好指导中国实践。

Online editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧