Duan Danjie: Composing an Academic Masterpiece with an Auspicious Atmosphere of Integrity [1]
The Central Committee of the Party has decided to conduct an in-depth study and education campaign throughout the Party from the conclusion of the 2025 National Two Sessions [1] until July, focusing on the thorough implementation of the spirit of the Central Eight-Point Regulations. This study and education campaign is an important undertaking personally initiated and deployed by General Secretary Xi Jinping, and represents a key task for Party building this year.
The philosophy and social sciences community immediately deployed and organized study and education efforts across the board. They expressed a deep understanding of the decisive significance of the "Two Establishments," continuously strengthened the "Four Consciousnesses," bolstered the "Four Confidences," and achieved the "Two Upholds." They are integrating the spirit of the Central Eight-Point Regulations into every aspect of daily work to effectively raise political standing and improve ideological and work styles. The vast ranks of Party members, cadres, experts, and scholars have unanimously expressed that they will take this study and education campaign as an opportunity to deeply study General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on strengthening the Party's work style. They aim to align their thoughts and actions with the decision-making deployments of the Party Central Committee, adhere to and utilize the precious experience of conducting concentrated intra-Party education in the New Era, and guarantee the continuous progress of Chinese philosophy and social sciences through new achievements in work style construction.
Motivating Major Work through Small Entry Points
In December 2012, a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee reviewed and adopted the Eight-Point Regulations of the Political Bureau of the 18th CPC Central Committee on Improving Work Style and Maintaining Close Ties with the Masses. Covering eight areas—including improving investigation and research, streamlining meetings and activities, simplifying documents and briefings, standardizing foreign visits, improving security work, refining news reports, strictly regulating the publication of manuscripts, and practicing strict economy—the document consists of just over 600 characters. It was the first important intra-Party regulation formulated in the New Era and served as the Party’s act of "moving the pole to establish trust" [2] in the New Era.
The Central Eight-Point Regulations serve as a shining "golden business card" for Chinese Communists in the New Era. Since the 18th Party Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has unswervingly promoted the implementation of the spirit of the Central Eight-Point Regulations. By leading from the top and persevering in strengthening the Party's work style, the atmosphere of the Party and government has been refreshed, and social and folk customs have continued to improve. This has laid a solid foundation for the historic achievements and transformations in the cause of the Party and the state.
Since the launch of the Party-wide study and education campaign on the Central Eight-Point Regulations this March, universities and scientific research institutes nationwide have remained focused on the theme, maintaining simplicity and pragmatism. They have synthesized and applied the successful experiences and practices of the study and education of Party discipline [3], insisting on integration into daily routines. Through the formulation of implementation plans, reading classes, and special exhibitions, they have pushed the study and education to "work hard on the word 'practicality,'" continuously transforming the results of Party discipline education into a powerful impetus for the development of academic endeavors.
The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) held the second expanded meeting of its 2025 Party Leadership Group Theoretical Study Center Group to deeply study and grasp General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on strengthening the Party's work style and the spirit of the Central Eight-Point Regulations and their implementation rules. The meeting emphasized that conducting this study and education campaign is a major political task for CASS at present and for some time to come. It is essential to continuously raise political standing, fully recognize the importance of work style construction, and promote the study and education campaign with the persistence and determination that "the journey is never-ending."
Renmin University of China launched its first reading class for the study and education campaign. The university's Party Committee leadership team took turns leading the study of the Eight-Point Regulations and selected topics from the Excerpts of Xi Jinping’s Expositions on Strengthening the Party's Work Style. They insisted on studying the original texts and comprehending every chapter and sentence, striving to find the intersection between thought and reality, the connection between theory and practice, and the landing point for the transformation of theory into institutions. This ensures that "iron rules" and "hard benchmarks" are converted into conscious actions and powerful kinetic energy for the university's development.
Recently, Shandong University officially launched a special website for the study and education campaign, featuring three sections: "Central Spirit," "Shandong University in Action," and "Commentary and Interpretation," to comprehensively display the school's measures and achievements. Southeast University initiated its deployment by issuing an implementation plan and establishing a dedicated work task force. Various primary-level Party organizations have organized extensively, with over 800 branches and 20,000 Party members responding actively, creating a positive atmosphere of deep mobilization and collective participation.
Zhang Donggang, Secretary of the Party Committee of Renmin University of China, stated that the leadership team has led by example to ensure the study and education enters the mind and heart. He emphasized that the required study materials must be read from start to finish to strictly abide by study discipline. A long-term mechanism for "learning in four ways" [4] should be utilized to timely track General Secretary Xi Jinping’s latest important speeches and instructions. Through individual study, site visits, specialized guidance, and concentrated discussions, the university aims to find gaps and problems, insisting on immediate rectification for visible results.
"We must integrate the construction of Party and government style, teacher ethics, and school and academic style, and dare to act as the pillar and leader," suggested Zuo Wei, Secretary of the Party Committee of Southeast University. He proposed linking the strategic intention of the Party Central Committee to advance comprehensively and strictly governing the Party with the university's goal of becoming a world-class institution. By playing a foundational and pioneering role in the "trinity" coordination of education, technology, and talent, the university will treat the Central Eight-Point Regulations as long-term iron rules, accurately examining "chronic ailments" [5] and conducting concentrated rectifications to provide strong support for "Double First-Class" [6] construction and Chinese-path modernization.
Firmly Cultivating an Invincible Work Style
When one piece is placed on the board—the Eight-Point Regulations—the entire game of work style construction becomes alive. This year marks the conclusion of the "14th Five-Year Plan" and a vital year for further comprehensively deepening reform. This study and education campaign serves as a re-education and re-arming of the thoughts and theories of Party members and cadres, and a re-inspection and enhancement of discipline and work style. Its timing is impeccable and its significance profound.
Luo Wendong, Secretary of the Party Committee of the CASS Institute of Marxism Studies, stated that work style issues are essentially issues of Party spirit, with the core being the relationship between the Party and the masses. For scholars in the philosophy and social sciences, solving work style problems is a yardstick for a correct worldview and values, a test of loyalty to the cause of the Party and the people, and a fundamental guarantee for the high-quality development of Chinese philosophy and social sciences.
Zeng Jun, Executive Vice President of the Party School of the Shanghai Municipal Committee, believes that a Marxist party must maintain its roots in the masses, hard work, and seeking truth from facts. To advance the rejuvenation of the nation through Chinese-path modernization, Party members must have an invincible work style to take on responsibilities and overcome difficulties on the new journey.
In the view of Hong Xianghua, a professor at the Central Party School (National Academy of Governance), philosophy and social science workers, as a key part of the national think tank, must master the "basic skill" of investigation and research. They must connect with national needs at a strategic height while rooting their methodology in Chinese soil.
Hong noted that social science workers should act as converters between the "heights of the imperial court" and the "distance of the lakes and rivers" [7]. They should possess both the technical literacy to "read the world through data" and the humanistic sentiment of having "mud on their feet," integrating academic research with the pain points of social governance while avoiding the "formalism" trap of "research for the sake of research."
Lin Jianhua, Secretary of the Party Committee of the CASS Institute of Chinese-path Modernization, stated that for over a century, investigation and research have been the "adhesive" for the Party's ties with the masses, the "intellectual source" for correct decision-making, and the "golden key" to solving problems. The social sciences community should follow General Secretary Xi Jinping’s expositions, "taking the people as teachers" and being willing to be "primary school students" to continuously enhance the effectiveness of their research, writing their papers on the "vast land of the motherland."
Transforming Study Results into Material Power for Development
The Central Eight-Point Regulations are not a five-year or ten-year regulation; they are long-term iron rules and hard benchmarks. General Secretary Xi Jinping has demanded that Party organizations at all levels organize carefully to ensure Party members and cadres enhance their "settled strength" (定力) and form habits.
Mei Bing, Secretary of the Party Committee of East China Normal University, stated that strengthening Party spirit education is foundational work. It requires a "nails-driven-in" spirit [8] to rectify the "Four Winds," guiding Party members not to cross the bottom line of discipline. This ensures that the spirit of the Central Eight-Point Regulations is deeply planted into work practice, nurturing a fine school, teaching, and academic style.
Research in philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics is an integral part of the cause of ideological and theoretical construction led by the Party. Song Yuehong, Deputy Director of the CASS Institute of Contemporary China, stated that the spirit of the Central Eight-Point Regulations should be treated as a vivid theme in Party history and Party building. It is necessary to punish corruption in the scientific research field where "specialized power" is used for personal gain, and to rectify academic and writing styles with the spirit of thorough self-revolution. This will help build a Chinese independent knowledge system and gather the majestic power to advance Chinese-path modernization.
Tan Tieniu, Secretary of the Party Committee of Nanjing University and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, proposed that leading cadres must integrate study into their routine, ensuring that theory builds the foundation and work style shapes the character. It is essential to focus on "learning" to understand awe, "inspecting" to face chronic ailments, and "rectifying" to see real results. Shi Ying, a professor at Jilin University, added that Party-member teachers should bring these lessons into the classroom, clarifying the logic of Party discipline and the necessity of persistence in work style construction.
Sun Yu, Secretary of the Party Committee of Jinan University, proposed that the campaign should avoid being divided into batches or stages, instead integrating "learning, inspection, and rectification" into a single whole. By transforming "problem lists" into "development lists," the university ensures that learning enters the mind and rectification produces visible effects.
"Biting the green mountain and not letting go" [9], and acting with conviction after realization. The social sciences community unanimously declares that they will use this campaign to strengthen Party cultivation, promote fine Party styles, and write academic masterpieces with a clean and upright atmosphere, providing strong support for the advancement of Chinese-path modernization.