Long March: An Expedition of Ideals and Beliefs

　 85 years ago, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army carried out a two-year long march, creating a miracle on earth that swallowed mountains and rivers. This earth-shaking revolutionary feat is a magnificent epic written by the Communist Party of China and the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, and a towering monument in the historical process of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Although the great feats of the Red Army's Long March have become history, the lofty ideals and firm convictions embodied in the red army officers' victories over all difficulties and dangers are still a powerful spiritual force that encourages and inspires us to strive for determination on the new Long March road.

Lofty ideals and convictions are a powerful spiritual motive force for the Red Army to create the miracle of the Long March

　　"Revolutionary ideals are higher than heaven." Firm ideals and convictions are the source of strength for the victory of the Red Army's Long March and the core essence of the spirit of the Great Long March. "The victory of the Long March is the victory of the ideals of the Chinese Communists and the victory of the convictions of the Chinese Communists." The Party and the Red Army have constantly risen up after several setbacks, and have hardened into steel through hardships, which in the final analysis lies in the fact that the lofty ideals and revolutionary convictions in their hearts have always been firm and persistent, and have always shone with fiery light.

　　During the Long March, the officers and men of the Red Army had to face not only the encirclement, pursuit, blockade, and blockade of millions of troops from the Kuomintang and the blockade and strangulation of the warlord forces, but also all kinds of difficulties and obstacles such as the dangerous peaks and swampy meadows from nature, and also endured various life and death tests such as war wounds and illness, hunger and cold, and the starvation of grain in the Jedi. In such a harsh and ruthless living environment, the heroic Red Army fought a bloody battle on the Xiang River, crossed the Chishui River in four ways, crossed the Jinsha River by skill, crossed the Dadu River by force, flew to seize the Luding Bridge, fought in Dushu Town, won the Battle of Yongke Baozao, turned to Wumeng Mountain, repelled millions of fierce and vicious pursuing soldiers to block the enemy, climbed over the iceberg snow ridge with thin air, crossed the vast grassland known as the "death trap", conquered the limits of human survival, staged a mighty and majestic war drama in world military history, and created a human miracle of swallowing mountains and rivers.

　　Xiong Guan rambled and struggled. What strength can the officers and men of the Red Army rely on to break through thousands of rivers and mountains, overcome all kinds of difficulties and dangers, cross more than ten provinces, drive twenty-five thousand miles, and create great miracles? They relied on lofty communist ideals and a firm conviction that the revolution would triumph. In 1938, Comrade Zhang Wentian said in a speech to the Northern Shaanxi Public School,"On the Cultivation of Youth," that without ideals and convictions, the Red Army "would be impossible even a thousand-mile long march."; during the Long March, "we once encountered the Jinsha River and the Dadu River, which were almost impossible to cross." We have encountered snowy mountains and meadows that have hardly been touched by humans. We are surrounded on all sides by enemy forces. The difficulties are almost insurmountable. However, we had only one thought at that time, that is, to overcome these difficulties no matter what, to fight for our ideals to the end. "On the twenty-five-thousand-mile march of the Red Army, on average, one Red Army was killed every 300 meters. However, hardship can destroy the human body, and death can take human life, but no force can shake the ideals and beliefs of Chinese Communists. The Long March declares to the people of the world that our Party and the Red Army are armed with Marxism and regard communism as their lofty ideal and firm conviction. The suffering, twists and turns, and deaths on the Long March have tested the ideals and convictions of the Chinese Communists and proved to the people of the world that the ideals and convictions of the Chinese Communists are indestructible.

On the road of the new Long March, we still need the strong spiritual support of lofty ideals and beliefs

　　History is constantly moving forward, and every generation has the long march of each generation, and each generation must take its own long march. At present, China has achieved the goal of the first centenary struggle, comprehensively built a moderately prosperous society on the land of China, historically solved the problem of absolute poverty that has plagued the Chinese nation for thousands of years, and is marching with vigor toward the second centenary goal of comprehensively building a socialist modern power. The second centenary goal of comprehensively building a socialist modern power and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is the new great long march facing our generation.

　　Compared with the Long March of the Red Army in those years, today's new Long March, although it does not have the hardships and hardships of that year, although it is very different from the Long March of that year in terms of environment, conditions, tasks, and strength, it is still groundbreaking, arduous, and complex. At present, the world is experiencing major changes unprecedented in a century, the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is in a critical period, on the road to realizing national rejuvenation, we will still face many new great struggles, there will be many new major risks to resist, many new major obstacles need to be overcome, many new major challenges need to be dealt with, many new major contradictions need to be resolved, we will still have many "snowy mountains" and "meadows" to cross, and there will still be many "Loushan Pass" and "Lazikou" that need to be conquered.

　　To win the great victory of the new Long March in this new great struggle, just like the Long March of the Red Army in those years, it is unimaginable without unbreakable ideals and convictions and without the strong support of lofty ideals and convictions. Therefore, in order to win the great victory of the new Long March, we still need lofty ideals and convictions as a strong spiritual pillar that can withstand any test.

Strengthen lofty ideals and convictions and win the great victory of the new Long March

　　To take today's new Long March and win the great victory of the new Long March, what kind of ideals and convictions do we need to strengthen? General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "To carry forward the spirit of the Great Long March and take today's Long March road, we must strengthen the lofty ideal of communism and the common ideal of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and strive for lofty ideals and beliefs." "Whether in the past, at present, or in the future, faith in Marxism, faith in socialism with Chinese characteristics, and confidence in realizing the Chinese nation's great rejuvenation of the Chinese dream are all powerful spiritual forces that guide and support the people of the Chinese to stand up, get rich, and become strong." Therefore, we need to do the following three things:

　　The first is to strengthen Marxist belief. The Long March was not only a great expedition of ideals and convictions, but also a great expedition to test the truth. The victory of the Long March enlightens us that only by integrating the basic tenets of Marxism-Leninism with the concrete reality of the Chinese revolution and resolving the practical problems of the Chinese revolution independently and autonomously can we lead the revolutionary cause to victory. On the road of the new Long March, we must continue to promote the sinification of Marxism, continuously develop contemporary Chinese Marxism and Marxism in the 21st century, adhere to Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as the action guide for realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and seize the great victory of the new Long March.

　　The second is to strengthen the lofty ideal of communism and the common ideal of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The lofty ideal of communism is the political soul of communists and the principle boundary that distinguishes the Communist Party from all other political parties. The reason why our Party is called the Communist Party is because from the day of its founding it has established communism as its highest ideal and ultimate goal. Socialism with Chinese characteristics carries the ideals and explorations of several generations of Chinese communists, the long-cherished wishes and expectations of countless people with lofty ideals, and the struggle and sacrifice of hundreds of millions of people, which is an inevitable choice for China's social development in modern times. The lofty ideal of communism is a guiding light. Without the guidance of the lofty ideal of communism, the common ideal of socialism with Chinese characteristics will lose its way forward. The common ideal of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the concrete embodiment of the lofty ideal of communism in contemporary China, and it is the necessary condition and necessary stage for realizing the lofty ideal. Without the realization of the common ideal, the lofty ideal of communism will become a utopian because of the lack of a realistic foundation. On the new Long March road, we must adhere to the dialectical unity of the lofty ideal of communism and the common ideal of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and firmly believe that socialism with Chinese characteristics is the only correct way to realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

　　The third is to strengthen confidence in realizing the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is the greatest dream of the Chinese nation in modern times. Since its birth, the Communist Party of China has established as its original mission to seek happiness for the Chinese the people, and to seek rejuvenation for the Chinese nation. Over the past one hundred years, the Communist Party of China has united and led the Chinese people to create great achievements in the new democratic revolution, socialist revolution and construction, reform, opening up, socialist modernization, and socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era; the Chinese nation has ushered in a great leap from standing up and getting rich to becoming strong; and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has entered an irreversible historical process. On the new Long March road, only by adhering to the guidance of Marxism, adhering to the leadership of the Communist Party of China, and adhering to the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics can we achieve the great victory of the new Long March of comprehensively building a socialist modern power and realizing the second centenary goal of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

　　【This paper is the phased result of the National Social Science Foundation project "Empirical Research on the Public Recognition of Chinese Roads in Western Ethnic Minority Areas" (16BKS032) and the Special Fund Project of the Central University for Nationalities of Southwest University for Nationalities "Research on the Path of Self-Confidence Improvement of the Socialist System with Chinese Characteristics" (2020SYB74)]

　　(The author is vice dean and professor of the School of Marxism of Southwest University for Nationalities, and a specially invited researcher of the Organization Department of the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China)

Source: China Social Science Network Author: Zhou Yu