Ren Xiang: The Ideals of Arduous Struggle, Diligence, and Frugality Must Never Be Abandoned
General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized: "No matter the level of development our country reaches, and no matter the extent to which the people's lives improve, the ideological values of arduous struggle, diligence, and frugality must never be lost." Arduous struggle, diligence, and frugality are traditional virtues of the Chinese nation; they are also among the key factors that have allowed the Communist Party of China (CPC) to remain true to its original aspiration and founding mission despite enduring countless trials. Conversely, extravagance, waste, and hedonistic indulgence corrupt the conduct of the Party and the government, damage the flesh-and-blood ties between the Party and the masses, and severely undermine the Party’s foundation for governance.
From March 17 to 18 of this year, during an inspection tour of Guizhou, General Secretary Xi Jinping set forth clear requirements for the entire Party to carry out intensive study and education on implementing the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations: "We must persist in addressing Party spirit, Party conduct, and Party discipline together, integrating the rectification of conduct and discipline with anti-corruption efforts, and work unremittingly to eradicate the soil and conditions that breed corruption." The wind of extravagance [1] is often closely linked to corruption and is characterized by its stubbornness, long-term nature, and complexity. We must maintain a "tenacity" that does not relax for even a fleeting moment, solidly carry out education on the implementation of the Eight-Point Regulations, promote the continuous rectification of the wind of extravagance, and preserve the revolutionary character of arduous struggle, diligence, and frugality.
"Surveying the states and families of former sages, success stems from diligence and frugality, while failure results from extravagance." [2] Throughout the thousands of years of the rise and fall of Chinese dynasties, there have been those who stabilized the state and prospered the nation through self-restraint and economy, and there have been examples where a craving for luxury and pleasure led to the "death of the person and the cessation of their governance." [3] Reviewing the Party’s century-long journey of struggle—from Comrade Mao Zedong’s emphasis that "comrades must be taught to remain modest, prudent, and free from arrogance and rashness in their style of work; comrades must be taught to preserve the style of arduous struggle" [4] to General Secretary Xi Jinping’s proposal to "persistently correct the Four Winds"—our Party has always carried forward arduous struggle, diligence, and frugality as fine styles of work, while continuously imbuing them with new connotations for the era.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has taken the formulation and implementation of the Eight-Point Regulations as the starting point for solving problems. Beginning with "small incisions" [5] such as cracking down on the gifting of mooncakes, greeting cards, and fireworks, they have halted certain winds of extravagance once thought impossible to stop and conquered chronic ailments that had become commonplace. This has made the fine fashion of valuing thrift and resisting luxury a common pursuit for the entire Party and society. By winning the hearts of the Party and the people through this "act of moving the wooden pole to establish trust" [6] in the New Era, the Party has profoundly changed China.
As the ancients said: "Frugality leads to few desires. If a person of noble character (jūnzǐ) has few desires, he will not be enslaved by material things and can walk the straight path... Extravagance leads to many desires. If a person of noble character has many desires, he will greedily long for wealth and status, wandering from the path and inviting disaster." [7] Extravagance, waste, and hedonism may seem like minor matters of personal cultivation, but they are in fact closely related to the rise and fall of families and even the destiny of the state. History and practice have fully proven that "frugality leads to restraint, and frugality breeds integrity." Luxury and waste are the beginning of greed, the starting point of corruption and degeneration, and the soil and breeding ground for corruption. Looking at the actual situation, behind hedonism and the wind of extravagance, there are generally more serious problems. The wind of extravagance is often intertwined with graft and corruption; many cadres who were investigated and punished for their degeneration began with personal issues such as keeping up with the Joneses, ostentation, showing off wealth, and seeking pleasure. After negligence in small matters and the loss of integrity in minor details, these behaviors gradually evolve into "waste on the tip of the tongue, corruption on wheels, and perverse winds in private clubs," [8] eventually leading to the point of no return—violating the law for personal gain. The lessons are extremely profound.
The current and future period is the key stage for comprehensively advancing the great cause of building a strong country and national rejuvenation through a Chinese path to modernization. Although we have bid farewell to the bitter days of lacking food and clothing and material scarcity, the basic national condition—that China is in and will long remain in the primary stage of socialism—has not changed, and China's international status as the world's largest developing country has not changed. Both the 2024 Central Economic Work Conference and this year’s Government Work Report put forward the requirement to "tighten our belts" (literally "lead a life of tight days"). This profoundly reflects the clear understanding and firm determination of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core regarding the great significance of continuing to carry forward the fine style of arduous struggle, diligence, and frugality during this critical period. We must use the study and education on the implementation of the Eight-Point Regulations as an important handle to continuously compress the space for the "invisible mutation" of the wind of extravagance, and continue to drive social and folk customs toward goodness and progress through an excellent Party and government style. We must not only be good at teaching and learning, but also be strict in investigation and management, and furthermore, be immediate in action and rectification.
To be good at teaching and learning means we must deeply study and implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution. We must regard education on the Eight-Point Regulations as a major political task, guiding Party members and leading cadres to treat their actions as commands and their personal examples as mirrors, taking the lead in "tightening their belts" and acting as models in practicing strict economy and opposing waste. To be strict in investigation and management, we must persist in a problem-oriented approach, keeping a close eye on various "invisibly mutated" phenomena of extravagance and hedonism. We must continuously strengthen the institutional implementation of valuing thrift and resisting luxury, persist in investigating and treating the wind of extravagance and corruption issues simultaneously, and resolutely sever the chain leading from "style issues" to corruption. To be immediate in action and rectification means we must not wait, push off, or delay. For prominent problems that provoke strong public reaction, once identified, they must be corrected immediately. We must earnestly grasp the continuous and ruthless suppression of the wind of extravagance as an important foundational task in the integrated promotion of the "Three Non-Corruptions." [9] Through the achievements of conduct building that the masses can truly feel and access, we will make the "Golden Business Card" of the Eight-Point Regulations—which has profoundly changed China—shine even brighter.
Network Editor: Tong Xin Source: People's Daily, May 13, 2025, Page 9