Source: Learning Times
Author: Interview Group of the Central Party School (National School of Administration).
Shi Zhongquan, born in May 1938, is a native of Hong'an, Hubei Province. He served as deputy director of the Central Party History Research Office and participated in the drafting of the "Resolution on Several Historical Issues Concerning the Party Since the Founding of the People's Republic of China."
Interview Group: You have always advocated "walking the history of the party", and basically completed the Long March road from the inspection of the Central Soviet Region. Tell us about your insights along the way.
Shi Zhongquan: "Walking away from the party history" was advocated by me after I was transferred to the former Central Party History Research Office. At that time, Hu Qiaomu proposed that the compilation of party history should have vivid scene descriptions, and the historical process should be vividly written, so that people have a sense of immersion. One of the reasons why this requirement is difficult to achieve is that party history workers lack practical experience of party history. I have gradually developed the idea that party history workers should have a process of experiencing party history from concepts of party history, forming an image of party history, and then narrating and theorizing party history; party history workers should do a good job in the study and writing of party history, and should try their best to go out of the study hall, feel and experience certain important party history scenes, and strive to master first-hand materials. Generally speaking, the history of the party, the military, and the history of the revolution written after some experience will not be a sea of literature and mountains, but will have specific materials and vivid plots; it will not be conceptual, but it will be flesh and blood; it will not be dry, but it will be fresh and pleasing to people.
Why does "walking the history of the party" begin with the Long March? This has to do with my Long March complex. When I was in middle school, I loved to listen to teachers tell stories about the Long March. During my graduate school years, I watched the performance of "Long March Suite Song" and was fascinated by the Long March of the Red Army. I didn't expect that I would work in the party history department later, and I would take the Long March road in the future. Since we have studied party history and have the idea of "walking away from party history," we have the question of how to do it. If the yearning for the Long March in my youth was emotional, then the rational understanding of the Long March after studying the history of the party played a decisive role in my choice of where to start from the "walking the history of the party."
The Long March of the Red Army is a miracle created by the Communist Party of China in the history of the Chinese nation and the history of world wars, and is the most thrilling, wonderful and touching chapter in the history of the party over the past century. The Long March of the Red Army was an unprecedented test for the people's army under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. The history of the Red Army's Long March must not be forgotten, and it should also be written in a big book to vigorously carry forward the spirit of the Great Long March. Therefore, when I was "walking the history of the party", I decided to take the Long March first.
Between 2003 and 2005, I basically completed the Long March of the Central Red Army, as well as part of the Long March of the Red Fourth Front, the Red Second Front, and the Red Twenty-fifth Army. In 2013, I also specially inspected the tragic and magnificent course of the Bloody Battle of Hexi by the Western Route Army. In this way, I basically inspected the whole process of the Red Army's Long March, thus constructing a relatively complete vivid map of the Red Army's Long March at a macro level, and also having many new understandings of the history of the Long March and the spirit of the Long March that could not be obtained in the "study hall".
Interview Group: You have talked about three "important dialogues" in the history of the Party, and thus talked about the "two musts" idea. Please tell us about the specifics.
Shi Zhongquan: This is an important story in party building. In my 2010 essay "Mao Zedong and marxist party building," I formed three "important dialogues." The three concepts of "dialogue" were proposed after General Secretary Xi Jinping's research in Hebei in July 2013. When General Secretary Xi Jinping inspected Xibaipo in Hebei Province, he pointed out: All leading cadres and all party members must profoundly understand the "two musts," continue to do a good job in the people's "examination" of our party and the "examination" that our party is undergoing and will undergo various tests, and strive to hand over excellent answer sheets. Inspired by this, I wrote a commentary on "Two Musts" and "Three Dialogues", calling the correspondence between Mao Zedong and Guo Moruo on the "Three Hundred Years of Jiashen Festival" "Jiashen Pair", which was "Jiashen Pair" and the previous "Cave Pair" and "Catching Up with the Examination Pair", collectively referred to as the three "Dialogues".
Let's start with "Koshin Pair". In the 1940s, the World Anti-Fascist War and the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression of the Whole Nation of China entered an important historical juncture, and the general trend of victory became clear. It was in this context that Guo Moruo, who was in Chongqing at the time, wrote an article commemorating the three hundred years of the demise of the Ming Dynasty and the Dashun Dynasty, "The Three Hundred Years of Jiashen Festival", which was published in March 1944, at the invitation of Xinhua Daily and The Masses magazine sponsored by the Southern Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. In his article, Guo Moruo focused on the jiashen year three hundred years ago, and Li Zicheng's peasant army, which had fought hard for eighteen spring and autumn to fight the world, spent days drinking and indulging in pleasure after capturing the city of Beijing and destroying the Ming Dynasty, and as a result, less than a month and a half after sitting in the world, he left Beijing in a hurry, fled south in defeat, and the Dashun Dynasty, which had just been proclaimed, vanished.
When the article was published, the Yan'an rectification movement was in its later stages. Mao Zedong said in his April 1944 summary of the rectification movement in "Study and The Current Situation": There have been several times in the history of our Party that great pride has been expressed, and all of them have suffered losses... The comrades of the whole Party must take these several prides and mistakes as a lesson. Recently, we printed Guo Moruo's article on Li Zicheng, which also asked comrades to take it as a warning and not to repeat the mistake of pride in victory. A week later, Yan'an's "Liberation Daily" reprinted the "Jiashen Three Hundred Years Festival" in full, and recommended it as a rectification document for all party cadres to study. In November 1944, Mao Zedong wrote to Guo Moruo again at the Seventh Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to sum up the party's historical experience, thanking Guo Moruo for his previous letters praising the party's anti-war line and Yan'an's becoming a holy land of democracy. Mao Zedong wrote: The Great Show reads. The awards are excessive, and I dare not be... Your "Three Hundred Years of Koshin Festival", we treat it as a rectification document. Small victories are pride, big victories are more proud, again and again to suffer losses, how to avoid this kind of problem, it is really worth noting... Although I am conscientious and afraid of making a mistake, I may not know where the fork will come from; you see what mistakes and shortcomings, and I hope to know at any time. Mao Zedong and Guo Moruo's pen talk, I call it "Jia Shen Pair".
Let's talk about the "cave pair". In early July 1945, twenty days after the conclusion of the Seventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China, six members of the National People's Political Consultative Conference, including Chu Fucheng, Huang Yanpei, Leng Suan, Fu Sinian, Zuo Shunsheng, and Zhang Bojun, who represented the middle forces, flew from Chongqing to Yan'an for a visit. They visited the New Market and Guanghua Farm in Yan'an, met with Ding Ling, Chen Yi, Fan Wenlan and other friends, inspected Yan'an's economic development, democratic political construction, social governance, and military-civilian relations, and felt the tremendous changes in Yan'an from the initial 2,000 people to 50,000 people. During this time, Mao Zedong had a long conversation with Huang Yanpei. Mao Zedong asked Huang Yanpei how he felt after his visit. Huang Yanpei said: I have been born for more than sixty years, and what I have heard and heard is not to say, what I have seen with my own eyes is really the so-called "rise and fall" and "its death is also sudden", a person, a family, a group, a place, and even a country, many units have not been able to jump out of the dominance of this "cycle rate". In a piece of history, there are also those who "slack off in politics", there are also those who "die in government", and there are also those who "seek glory and humiliation", in short, they have not been able to jump out of this "cycle rate". From the past to the present, I have a little understanding of the CCP monarchs, that is, I hope to find a new way to jump out of the domination of this "cycle rate". After a little thought, Mao Zedong clearly replied: We have found a new way, and we can jump out of this "cycle rate." This new path is democracy. Only by allowing the people to supervise the government can the government dare not slacken off. Only when everyone rises up and takes responsibility will no one die in politics. This famous dialogue is called "cave pair" in history.
Why did Mao Zedong explicitly answer that the Chinese Communist Party could jump out of the "cyclical rate"? First, this is possible because of the advanced nature of our party, that is, to adhere to the party's original intention and to change its original intention to become persistent; second, the yan'an rectification style and the decisive impact of the seventh national congress of the party on party building, especially the highly democratic and lively atmosphere and the unity, fraternity, and true feelings of unity and fraternity shown by the seventh national congress of the party, which made Chairman Mao very moved. Some leading comrades who had made mistakes took the initiative to make self-criticism, and Bogu's speech also won warm applause from the congress. In the final election of the Central Committee, Chairman Mao made many speeches to elect several comrades who had made mistakes, including Wang Ming. Many deputies could not figure it out, and Chairman Mao asked the delegations to do their work. When singing the tickets, he heard that Wang Ming had more than half of the votes before he left the venue. Such a broad unity of the Seven Congresses has achieved unprecedented success. Therefore, Chairman Mao answered Huang Yanpei's question of "cycle rate" and said with confidence: We have found a new way to jump out of the "cycle rate," that is, democracy.
Mao Zedong's "Jiashen Pair" with Guo Moruo and his "Cave Pair" with Huang Yanpei are actually a theme, that is, how to prevent corruption and maintain the advanced nature and purity of the Communist Party. The "Jiashen Pair" profoundly reveals the historical lesson of the demise of the Dashun regime established by Li Zicheng. Li Zicheng's peasant army fought the world for eighteen years and sat in the world for forty-two days, which is a typical manifestation of the "cyclical rate" of "its rise and fall" and "its death is also sudden." Why did Li Zicheng's peasant army perish so quickly? An important reason is pride corruption. There are also many peasants in the Communist Party, and Huang Yanpei admired the Communist Party after his inspection in Yan'an, but still worried about whether he could jump out of the "cycle rate". Huang Yanpei's questions were well-intentioned, and Mao's emboldened answers convinced him. Huang Yanpei said in "The Return of Yan'an", written after returning to Chongqing: "I think that the most precious spirit of the CPC friends is to constantly be good and constantly seek progress. Precisely because Huang Yanpei believed that the Communist Party could jump out of the "cycle rate", this also became an important consideration for him to join the New CppcC and be invited to serve as vice premier of the State Council after the founding of New China.
Mao Zedong put forward at the same time that "catching up with the examination is right" and "two musts." As can be seen from the foregoing, General Secretary Xi Jinping also put the two together. Since the Eighteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly talked about the issue of catching up with the examination, and "catching up with the examination" has become a hot topic. More than seventy years ago, the background of Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai's "catching up with the examination" was that the CPC Central Committee was preparing to build a new China. The preparation for the establishment of New China was mainly carried out through two meetings, namely the enlarged meeting of the Politburo of the Central Committee in September 1948 (known in history as the September Conference) and the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in 1949. At its September meeting, the Central Committee decided to destroy the Kuomintang's reactionary rule in about five years, counting from July 1946; to immediately carry out a strategic decisive battle in three major battles to eliminate the main military forces of the Kuomintang; to invite representatives of the democratic parties to the Liberated Areas to discuss the state of the country, and to prepare to convene a new CPPCC in 1949 to establish a new central government in New China and replace the Kuomintang reactionary government. At the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Mao Zedong made a keynote speech. According to this report, the plenary session focused on four issues: First, the implementation of the strategic shift in the focus of the party's work from the countryside to the cities requires the whole party to learn to manage the cities and regard the restoration and development of production in the cities as the central task. The second is about economic policy, which clearly states that there are five economic sectors after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and different policies are adopted for different economic sectors. The third is the question of two basic contradictions after the settlement of the land question throughout the country (i.e., the contradiction between the working class and the bourgeoisie at home, and the contradiction between China and the imperialist countries abroad). Fourth, with regard to strengthening the party's ideological building, we remind the whole party to be vigilant against the growing feelings of pride and complacency and self-esteem as heroes, against the attacks of the bourgeoisie's cannonballs wrapped in sugar, and we must continue to maintain the style of modesty, prudence, non-arrogance, and impatience, and we must continue to maintain the style of arduous struggle.
The Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has made basic arrangements for the major policy of preparing for the establishment of a new China. After the meeting, the CPC Central Committee and its subordinate institutions were moved from Xibaipo to Beiping. As he set out to make preparations, Mao Zedong said to the comrades around him: We are about to enter Beiping. When we entered Beiping, it was not Li Zicheng who entered Beiping, they changed when they entered Beiping. We Communists entered Peiping to continue the revolution and build socialism until communism was realized. On March 23, 1949, Chairman Mao excitedly said to Zhou En: Today is the day to enter Beijing, and I am happy not to sleep. Today is to enter Beijing to "catch the exam". How to go to Beijing to "catch the exam" and be mentally bad? Zhou Enlai smiled and said: We should all pass the exam and not return. Chairman Mao said: If you return, you will fail. We should never let Li Zicheng, we all hope to get good results in the exam. This conversation is now called "catching up with the test."
"Catching up with the exam" is obviously a response to "Jia Shen is right". From the "Jiashen pair" to the "cave pair" to the "catch-up examination right", the issue discussed is one, taking the typical "cycle rate" of Li Zicheng's peasant army's "rise and fall" and "his death is also abrupt" as the historical mirror, the Communist Party must not repeat the same mistakes and become Li Zicheng in the twentieth century. Is there such a possibility? Can't say no. Not only Huang Yanpei was worried, but others were also worried. In December 1948, the Liaoshen Campaign was over, the overall situation of the two major battles of Huaihai and Pingjin had been decided, and the victory of the Chinese revolution was imminent. Liu Shaoqi preached to the first class of students of the Marxist-Leninist Academy: It is not easy to win the world and be able to keep it. Many people are worried that when we struggle hard before we win the world, we may become as corrupt as the Kuomintang after we win the world. There is some reason for their fears. In China, a backward agricultural country, a village chief and a county party secretary can claim hegemony. After the victory, there will be some people who will become corrupt and bureaucratic. If our party pays attention to this aspect, strengthens ideological education, and enhances discipline, it will be better. Liu Shaoqi also pointed out: After we overthrow Chiang Kai-shek and the old regime, we must lead the people of the whole country to organize the state, and if we do not do well, others can overthrow us. This question raised by Liu Shaoqi was discussed at the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and Chairman Mao's "two musts" at the plenary session answered this question. In this sense, the "two musts" are also answers to the questions raised by the three "important dialogues."
Although the three "important dialogues" and "two musts" are the past events of more than seventy years ago, they have the significance of warning and enlightenment that will never go out of style. Corruption and the destruction of the party and the country are historical laws that do not depend on the will of anyone. Any regime that has been overthrown is corrupt and has lost the hearts and minds of the people. Ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign, can not be excluded. Many political parties have gone from prosperity to decline, and corruption is the deadly root. Will the Communist Party repeat the mistakes of the past and become Li Zicheng? This always requires our Party to be highly vigilant. Since the Eighteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core has insisted on comprehensively and strictly administering the party, which is actually answering the questions raised by the three "important dialogues" under the conditions of the new era. How to prevent corruption? There are at least four points: First, unswervingly persist in ideological party building and system-based party management, and cultivate the communists' "king kong incorruptible body"; second, unswervingly adhere to the "two musts" thinking, keep firmly in mind that arrogance is not defeated or frustrated, and sincerely fear and guard against fear and never slacken off; third, unswervingly persist in taking the new road of democracy, constantly enrich and develop socialist democratic politics with Chinese characteristics, and "create a political situation in which there is both centralization and democracy, discipline and freedom, unity of will, and personal happiness and liveliness." Fourth, we should unswervingly persist in the anti-corruption struggle, constantly strengthen the deterrent of not daring to be corrupt, firmly entrench the cage that cannot be corrupted, and enhance the consciousness of not wanting to be corrupt, so that the integrity of cadres, the honesty of the government, and the clarity of politics will become the norm of fame.
(Interview group members: Chu Feng, Chen Si, Li Junhui, Yin Xiaohui)