Lei Jiangmei and Wang Wuzhe: An Analysis of the Triple Implications of the CPC's Commitment to the Driving Force of Self-Revolution
Throughout the more than one-hundred-year history of the Communist Party of China (CPC), self-revolution has been a constant thread. The Party’s self-revolution is always a work in progress; we must persevere in advancing the Party’s self-revolution. The Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the Major Achievements and Historical Experience of the Party over the Past Century states: "The courage to engage in self-revolution is the distinctive mark that distinguishes the Communist Party of China from other political parties. The spirit of self-revolution is the powerful support for the Party to maintain its youthful vitality forever." The report to the 20th National Congress further emphasized that on the road to building a modern socialist country in all respects and comprehensively advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, "the whole Party must remember that comprehensively and strictly governing the Party is always a work in progress, and the Party’s self-revolution is always a work in progress." This highlights the significant meaning of the Party’s persistence in self-revolution. At the same time, we must objectively recognize that both the subject and object of the Party’s self-revolution is the CPC itself; it is an action of "turning the blade inward" [1]. A rational dynamic mechanism can provide an inexhaustible source of momentum for the Party’s self-revolution, enabling the entire Party to effectively reduce sentiments of slackening, resting, fatigue, or war-weariness. Therefore, comprehensively grasping the sources of momentum for the Party’s self-revolution and deeply analyzing its formation mechanism is of great practical significance for deepening our understanding of the logic and laws of the Party’s self-revolution and for fully implementing the general requirements for Party building in the New Era.
I. The Constituent Elements of the Momentum for the CPC’s Persistence in Self-Revolution
In the CPC’s development over more than a century, self-revolution has been a fine tradition consistently upheld by Chinese Communists. It is a distinctive political character maintained by the Party throughout its practices of revolution, construction, and reform, and it is also the powerful support for the Party to escape the "historical cycle of order and chaos, rise and fall" [2] and maintain its youthful vitality. We cannot mechanically view the motivation for the CPC's persistence in self-revolution merely as the inheritance of a traditional character, nor can we simply see it as being driven by external environments. Instead, we must explore it using a systematic and scientific method: we must look at the issue from within the CPC as the agent of action and analyze it based on the different external environments in which the Party finds itself; we must broadly analyze the existence of different forces while coordinately analyzing the synergy between them; and we must deeply explore the sources of momentum within the excellent genetic makeup of a Marxist party while focusing on the innovative practical capabilities of the CPC in its revolutionary activities. In short, the system of momentum for the CPC’s persistence in self-revolution is a composite system, and its power is a resultant force formed by strengths from different aspects.
(1) Genetic Stability: The Attributes and Traits of an Advanced Political Party
The CPC is a Marxist party composed of the advanced elements of the proletariat. It can be said that the CPC has inherited the excellent genes of a Marxist party and manifested the attributes of an advanced party. The construction of the Party’s advanced nature concerns its essential attributes, its original aspiration and founding mission, and its governing capacity; it is the very lifeblood and source of strength for the Party. However, "the advanced nature and purity of a Marxist party are not maintained naturally over time," which means that advanced nature is not static, and the building of an advanced party is not achieved overnight. Persisting in the construction of its advanced nature requires the CPC not only to neutralize unfavorable factors in the external environment but also to temper Party spirit and strengthen organizational building through self-revolution. Consequently, advanced nature is regarded as the internal drive for the Party’s persistence in self-revolution. Through the Party’s long-term construction of its advanced nature, this internal drive—generated by the inheritance of the genetic makeup of an advanced party—has evolved into the "genetic stability" (基因定力) of the Party’s self-revolution.
The advanced nature of the CPC is prominently reflected in the selfless nature of its political stance. As a Marxist party, the CPC possesses a class standpoint representing the proletariat, a historical task of achieving the free and comprehensive development of humanity, and a value goal of selflessly seeking interests for the people. In the Manifesto of the Communist Party, Marx and Engels pointed out that the Communist Party is a proletarian party burdened with a mission: "Modern bourgeois private property is the final and most complete expression of the system of producing and appropriating products, that is based on class antagonisms, on the exploitation of the many by the few." The task of the Communists is to form the proletariat into a class, overthrow the supremacy of the bourgeoisie, and subsequently "use its political supremacy to wrest, by degrees, all capital from the bourgeoisie, to centralize all instruments of production in the hands of the State, i.e., of the proletariat organized as the ruling class; and to increase the total of productive forces as rapidly as possible," thereby creating an "association" in which the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all. "The people’s centered-standpoint is the fundamental political stance of the CPC and is the distinctive mark that distinguishes a Marxist party from other political parties." The selflessness of this stance allows the CPC to consistently uphold its lofty historical mission, maintain scientific practical rationality, and adhere to excellent moral character. Proceeding from such a standpoint, the CPC is able to form the consciousness and courage for self-revolution.
Placing the people’s interests above all else is an inherent meaning of an advanced party and the core concept for the CPC to temper and maintain its advanced nature. Xi Jinping has pointed out: "The Communist Party of China always represents the fundamental interests of the broadest possible range of people. It shares the same fate as the people, sticking together through thick and thin. It does not have any special interests of its own, and it has never represented the interests of any interest group, any power group, or any privileged stratum." This emphasizes that the CPC and the people are a community of shared interests, reminding the whole Party to maintain a clear-cut and firm stance on the issue of seeking benefits for the people. On one hand, the authority of political power includes both the legitimacy derived from legal authorization and the morality derived from public support. China’s Constitution stipulates that "all power belongs to the people," emphasizing that the Party’s power is granted by the people and is not a tool for individuals or specific groups to seek private gain. On the other hand, seeking interests for the people is an excellent political quality in traditional Chinese culture. Under the supplementation and refinement of Marxist ethics, it has become the core content and dominant element of the socialist moral code system, serving as "the value foundation for moral principles and norms, and the behavioral standard that Party members and cadres should observe and practice." In this sense, the CPC’s persistence in self-revolution to protect the interests of the people is equivalent to maintaining the authority of its own political power, following the political essence that "power is granted by the people and must be used for the people."
"An advanced Marxist party is not born, but is tempered through continuous self-revolution." Using self-revolution to excise "malignant tumors" and purge "toxins" within the CPC is an inevitable requirement for maintaining the Party’s advanced nature. The theoretical foundation of our Party is a new, scientific worldview, an advantage that is extremely prominent. Throughout history—whether at the August 7th Meeting [3], the Zunyi Meeting [4], the Yan’an Rectification Movement [5], or during Reform and Opening-up—at many critical historical junctures over the past century, the CPC has carried out work to rectify regulations and correct deviations. This broke the ideological shackles on the CPC, allowing the cause of the Chinese nation to survive at a moment of life or death and move toward rejuvenation.
(2) Missional Drive: The Intellectual Pursuit of a Mission-Oriented Party
The "mission-oriented party" (使命型政党) is an important perspective for understanding the CPC. The term "political party" originated in the West, referring to political groups that establish political order, regulate political relations, allocate political resources, and distribute public resources. In Western discourse, parties can be categorized into "mass parties," "catch-all parties," and "cartel parties." These various types of party theories are rooted in "Eurocentrism," such as Giovanni Sartori's proposition that "a party is any political group identified by an official label that presents at elections," or that parties are "mediating organizations between society and government," highlighting the core view of parties as "bridges connecting the state and society." Based on a reflection upon Western party theories, some domestic scholars have redefined the type of the CPC. They believe that "from the perspective of whether one takes a lofty historical mission as one's duty, the Communist Party of China is a typical Marxist mission-oriented party," a "mission-oriented party that integrates nature, function, role, status, mission, and responsibility." Such discourse explains that the CPC not only possesses lofty ideal goals but also struggles continuously for them. Remembering the original aspiration and shouldering the mission is the practical requirement of a mission-oriented party. It also drives the Party to continuously realize self-purification, self-perfection, self-innovation, and self-improvement, through which the Party’s governing capacity is continuously strengthened. It is not difficult to see that the CPC’s mission and its conscious practice of that mission have formed a "missional drive" (使命驱力) for the Party’s self-revolution.
Deeply understanding the sacred mission of the CPC first requires returning to the classic works of Marxism. As early as 1847, the Statutes of the Communist League, which Marx helped draft, explicitly stated that the League was established for "the overthrow of the bourgeoisie, the rule of the proletariat, the abolition of the old bourgeois society based on class antagonisms and the establishment of a new society without classes and without private property," indicating that purposiveness and missionality are inherent traits of a proletarian party. Subsequently, the Manifesto of the Communist Party was published, which also contained discussions on the missionality of Communists: "The Communists fight for the attainment of the immediate aims, for the enforcement of the momentary interests of the working class; but in the movement of the present, they also represent and take care of the future of that movement." "The proletarian movement is the self-conscious, independent movement of the immense majority, in the interest of the immense majority." These statements express an important mark distinguishing a Marxist party from others: the proletarian party is born to shoulder the historical mission of seeking interests for the vast majority and pursuing human liberation.
In modern times, Western powers eyed China with greed, and the Chinese nation fell into a tragic state of internal hardship and external aggression. Different classes and groups launched various movements to save the nation from subjugation, but all ended in failure. "China urgently needed new ideas to lead the movement for national salvation and a new organization to coalesce revolutionary forces"; thus, the CPC came into being. To fulfill the aforementioned historical mission and goals, the CPC had to conduct a long and arduous struggle and engage in resolute and thorough self-revolution. At every critical juncture, the Party's self-revolution has played a positive role and serves as an important "magic weapon" [6] for the CPC to lead the social revolution from victory to victory. "In different stages of development, the goals of self-revolution are achieved by continuously exploring paths, improving content, and enriching measures for self-revolution, resulting in great achievements that constitute the basic thread of the Party’s long history of struggle." It is precisely by relying on self-revolution that the CPC, in a complex and difficult revolutionary environment, has repeatedly turned danger into safety and averted disasters, growing from nothing to something and from weak to strong, moving from local governance to comprehensive national governance. It led the people to achieve national independence and liberation, creating the great victory of the New Democratic Revolution where "the Chinese people have stood up." By relying on self-revolution, the CPC, while in power nationally, cleansed unhealthy tendencies, strengthened organizational unity and management, improved Party-mass relations, and led the people of the whole country to gradually complete the socialist transformation, establish the advanced socialist system, and complete the most extensive and profound social change in the history of the Chinese nation. The CPC persists in serving modernization with the spirit of self-revolution, leading the people to open the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, greatly liberating productive forces, stimulating the vitality of social development, and realizing the historic transition and leap of comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society, significantly strengthening comprehensive national power, and notably raising international status.
(3) Challenge Stimulus: The Practical Spirit of a Revolutionary Party
The CPC is a proletarian party born out of revolutionary demands and developed amidst the torrent of revolution, possessing the attributes and spiritual genes of a revolutionary party. Xi Jinping has emphasized that at no time should we "forget that we are Communists, we are revolutionaries, and we must not lose our revolutionary spirit," clearly identifying the Party as a revolutionary party. For over a century, relying on its revolutionary spirit and practical perseverance, the CPC has "opened roads through mountains and built bridges across waters" [7] in the process of leading the social revolution, securing one victory after another. Maintaining the revolutionary spirit is an internal requirement for a revolutionary party, allowing the CPC to form a strong character of daring to struggle. External challenges continuously stimulate the subjective potential and endogenous drive of the social revolution, enabling the Party to form a consciousness and initiative for self-perfection and self-improvement, thus creating the "challenge stimulus" (挑战激力) for the Party’s self-revolution.
The revolutionary spirit of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) originates from the theoretical system of revolution constructed by Marx. Marx was the first to reveal, from the perspective of a philosophical worldview, that revolution is essentially a practical activity to change the world, thereby establishing a revolutionary philosophy of practical materialism. Through his study of the political economy of the contemporary capitalist world, Marx raised the question of why the existing world must be changed, providing legitimacy for his revolutionary theory and thought. Through his exposition of the theory of scientific socialism, Marx pointed out the future and direction of the world after its transformation and vividly depicted the vision of the post-revolutionary landscape. In short, centering on the revolutionary practical activity of changing the existing world, Marx constructed the unique fields of Marxist philosophy, political economy, and scientific socialism. He comprehensively expounded on basic issues such as the necessity, reality, and ideological nature of revolution, ultimately forming a complete Marxist theoretical system of revolution.
Although the concept of a proletarian party's "self-revolution" was not explicitly proposed in Marx's revolutionary thought, the scientific positioning and historical responsibility he bestowed upon the proletarian party during the revolutionary process imposed latent requirements for its self-revolution. First, a Marxist party should be "a conscious class party" [8] that must incorporate self-revolution into the basic category of political revolution and integrate it throughout the entire process of the proletarian political revolution. Second, Marxist revolutionary thought and methods of thinking provide an important methodology for the CPC's self-revolution: the CPC follows the law of the "unity of opposites" [9], taking internal Party contradictions and social contradictions as the foundational dynamic, and advancing self-revolution through a broad consensus and historical practice in resolving these dual contradictions. The CPC utilizes bottom-line thinking to constantly guard against the distortion of the Party's line and the corruption of its attributes, which represents a grasp of the law of "transformation between quality and quantity." Through self-criticism and self-innovation to ultimately achieve self-improvement, the CPC practices the discernment and application of the law of the "negation of the negation." Finally, the unique qualities of the proletariat make it the historical best candidate to lead the great social revolution; the proletarian party must maintain constant vigilance and keep the revolutionary courage to "turn the blade inward" [10], ensuring its role as the "locomotive" [11] and vanguard of the social revolution until a thorough revolutionary victory is achieved.
The CPC has led the Chinese people in various forms of revolutionary activities for over a hundred years, and the content and form of these activities have been in constant flux. It is worth noting that the CPC has consistently maintained the cultivation and practice of the revolutionary spirit. This is because "permanently preserving the revolutionary spirit" is regarded as an internal requirement of the CPC, through which the power to persist in self-revolution can be stimulated. Xi Jinping has pointed out that the reason the CPC has been able to establish and maintain its governing and leadership position "is fundamentally because our Party has always maintained the spirit of self-revolution and the courage to acknowledge and correct its mistakes."
II. The Operating Mechanism of the Driving Force for the CPC’s Persistence in Self-Revolution
The CPC's persistence in self-revolution possesses a powerful and complex dynamic system. Specifically, there is a positive interaction between the endogenous and exogenous driving forces: on the one hand, the CPC transforms its excellent "party genes" into revolutionary practice, and the determination to continuously fulfill its mission provides the courage to meet challenges and preserve its revolutionary spirit; on the other hand, the CPC continuously consolidates its basic attributes through the practice of solving problems and overcoming difficulties.
(1) Driving the high degree of unity between Party spirit and people-centeredness through maintaining the attributes of an advanced party
"Party spirit is essentially the abstraction of people-centeredness," and the two form a highly integrated whole. This unity is reflected in the requirements for Party building and governing concepts, such as the political concept that "the people's hearts are politics" [12], the development concept of being "people-centered," and the values of "having no special interests of its own." Reviewing its hundred-year history, the CPC has clarified its self-positioning as "leader," "vanguard," and "trailblazer" by summarizing history and accumulating experience. It has cultivated a firm sense of mission and responsibility, constantly perfecting itself through struggles at different stages of development and under different themes, thereby forging a strong leadership core capable of fulfilling its mission. In the course of the revolution, the Party deeply defined its mission requirements, clearly outlined specific paths for the coordinated development of material and spiritual civilizations, and enriched the basic connotation of well-rounded human development. In the process of fulfilling its mission, the Party has adhered to a problem-oriented approach, ushering in the historical stage where the Chinese nation moved from "standing up" to "becoming prosperous" and then to "becoming strong." It has advanced the historical progress of the people of all ethnic groups from "solving the problem of food and clothing" to "achieving a moderately prosperous society in all respects" and then to "comprehensive modernization," driving the formation of a dialectical unity of individual mission, Party mission, and national mission in historical practice.
In the persistence of the highly unified relationship between Party spirit and people-centeredness, the CPC has formed unique party advantages. First is the advantage at the subjective level: the CPC "regards the active assumption of historical missions and the pragmatic fulfillment of political responsibilities as the fundamental source of organizational incentive and behavioral motivation," becoming a party that integrates a "functional organization" for service and guidance with a proactive "subjective organization." Second is the advantage in terms of core driving force: the CPC adheres to a people-oriented view of wholeheartedly serving the people, resolutely carries out the core goal of building a Marxist mission-oriented party, and consolidates the dynamic foundation for the CPC’s behavioral autonomy and pioneering innovation. Since its founding, the CPC has always adhered to putting people first and maintained the fundamental position of promoting revolutionary party building. In complex and changing historical environments, the CPC's persistence in revolutionary party building is not intended to criticize or change its fundamental "people-centered" nature, but rather to realize the goals of relying on the people for everything, doing everything for the people, and sharing all fruits with the people through a series of forms such as political revolution, democratic revolution, and the revolution of productive forces. This further reveals that "the realization of the CPC's class attributes comes from its persistence in the people’s standpoint and its commitment to national and state rejuvenation."
In revolutionary practice, the CPC has persisted in and further developed the advanced nature of Marxist parties, thereby enhancing the initiative of the Party's self-revolution. First, it puts ideological building in the first place and takes political building as the overarching principle to comprehensively advance Party building, creatively solving the problem of the construction of the advanced party subject. Second, it emphasizes that the CPC is the vanguard of the Chinese working class, and at the same time, the vanguard of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation, combining class nature and advanced nature with representativeness and mass character, and unifying the consolidation of the Party's class base with the expansion of its mass base, making the CPC the most advanced political force in China. Third, it combines the Party's advanced nature with the completion of stage-specific tasks, embodying the Party's advanced nature in the process of achieving national independence and developing Chinese-path modernization. Fourth, it takes governing capacity as the main thread of Party building, broadening the paths for building an advanced party through the construction of images such as a learning-oriented party, a service-oriented party, and an innovation-oriented party.
(2) Steering the historical interaction between self-revolution and social revolution through the belief and pursuit of a mission-oriented party
For a century, the Party has always persisted in leading social revolution with solid self-revolution. History has proven that "self-revolution must form a 'heart-to-heart mechanism' (shared destiny) with the masses, promoting the integrated operation, mutual promotion, and complementarity of the 'two revolutions' (self-revolution and social revolution) so that self-revolution can release its maximum effectiveness for steady and long-term progress," and that "whether one possesses the spirit of responsibility is a concentrated expression of a party’s strength and caliber." In his speech at Marx's graveside, Engels summarized Marx's lifelong struggle for the overthrow of capitalist society and the liberation of the modern proletariat, stating that "few men have fought with as much passion, tenacity, and success as he did." In the Address of the Central Committee to the Communist League, Marx pointed out the need to strive to "establish an independent organization of the workers' party, both secret and public, alongside the official democrats, and make each of its sections a center and nucleus of workers' associations," intending to emphasize the leadership and cohesion of the proletarian party over the proletariat. Through systematic self-revolution—via self-purification, self-perfection, self-innovation, and self-improvement—the CPC has continuously strengthened its ideals and beliefs and sustained the building of the Party's advanced nature, thereby forging a strong leadership subject for social revolution. "The goal of self-revolution is achieved by continuously exploring paths, perfecting content, and enriching measures for self-revolution at different stages of development. Achieving great accomplishments constitutes the basic thread of the Party's long history of struggle."
Examining the current stage of development, the "two great revolutions" are dialectically unified in the New Era of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Collaboratively advancing the Party's self-revolution and social revolution is based on historical necessity and is the inevitable result of the development of realistic possibilities. Xi Jinping believes that "socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era is the result of the great social revolution led by the Party, as well as the continuation of the great social revolution led by the Party." This both points out that this revolution is the continuation of the social revolution led by the Party for a century and emphasizes that the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era represents a new historical stage in China's social development. We are facing unprecedented new challenges, requiring unparalleled intensity to further advance the social revolution. As the leader of this great revolution, the CPC must undertake its historical responsibility and continue the spirit of self-revolution to build socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era effectively. It must summarize the historical experience of the Party's self-revolution to make the Party stronger and more powerful. Therefore, collaboratively advancing the Party's self-revolution and social revolution is an objective requirement for opening up a new landscape for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
(3) Stimulating the spirit of the times to escape the "historical cycle of rise and fall" by inheriting the genes of a revolutionary party
Based on a profound analysis of the Party's historical position and the situations and tasks it faces, Xi Jinping proposed in the Report to the 20th National Congress: "As the largest Marxist governing party in the world, our Party must always maintain the sobriety and determination to solve the unique challenges facing a large party if it is to always win the people's support and consolidate its position as a long-term governing party." Among these, the "unique challenges facing a large party" is an objective and accurate description of the problems existing in Party building in the New Era. The CPC is a large party with a sense of mission and grand goals; maintaining the Party's advanced nature and purity is an eternal subject of Party building and an inevitable requirement for the CPC's governance. The Report to the 19th National Congress for the first time incorporated "political building" and "discipline building" into the overall layout of Party building and expanded "institutional building" to "integrating institutional building throughout," forming a more comprehensive, scientific, and targeted system of Party building, providing a basis for the institutionalized and systematic construction of the Party's self-revolution. When discussing the issue of anti-corruption and promoting integrity, the 18th National Congress placed "anti-corruption and integrity building" before "institutional building." The Report to the 19th National Congress changed "anti-corruption and integrity building" to "further advancing the anti-corruption struggle," and the Report to the 20th National Congress further emphasized "resolutely winning the tough and protracted battle against corruption," placing higher requirements on the depth and intensity of the Party's self-revolution.
The continuous elevation of the status of self-revolution reveals that it can "prevent our Party from potentially losing its revolutionary character and sense of urgency due to long-term governance, ensuring that the Party never diverges from its nature, changes its color, or loses its flavor," reflecting the Party’s high degree of strategic clarity and consciousness of action. As the governing environment changes and governance capacity improves, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has become increasingly sophisticated in its exploration of the major issue of how to escape the "historical cycle of order and chaos, rise and fall" [13]. On one hand, the CPC continues to promote theoretical innovation and practical exploration of democratic politics, committing itself to building genuine whole-process people's democracy. In terms of legislation and law enforcement, "all major legislative decisions of the Party are produced according to procedure, through democratic deliberation, and via scientific and democratic decision-making," extensively adopting the people's opinions and forming democratic resolutions. Regarding the political system, against the macro-background of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics becoming "more stable and mature," the CPC has gradually refined its top-level design, "forming an organic whole composed of the fundamental system, basic systems, important systems, specific systems, and a legal framework," providing more complete institutional guarantees for the steady progress of whole-process people's democracy. In terms of participatory practice, based on its new historical coordinates, the CPC has maximized the level of people’s participation under the premise of scientific and orderly development.
On the other hand, by deepening their understanding of the laws of governance, Chinese Communists have formed beneficial supplements to the response of how to escape the "historical cycle of order and chaos, rise and fall." First, this deepening of understanding is reflected in a focus shift from a governmental path to a political party perspective. Within the political framework of a socialist country, strong party-building possesses historical dominance and plays a key role. Developing democratic politics must take the maintenance of party authority as its premise, and "the key to establishing party authority lies in the party truly winning the heartfelt love of its members and the masses, continuously drawing legitimacy resources from them, and achieving the sustainable development of party authority." Second, this deepening of understanding is reflected in an expansion from heteronomy to self-discipline. "Letting the people supervise the government" emphasizes the constraint of external forces on the Party; meanwhile, as a Marxist party of an advanced nature, cultivating consciousness within the Party is equally important, and the relationship between the two is one of dialectical unity. People's supervision also takes intra-Party consciousness as a premise; only when there is an ideological grasp of intra-Party consciousness can external supervision play its proper role. Finally, this understanding is reflected in the accumulation of objective historical lessons. Whether it be the serious setbacks occurring within the CPC or the historical tragedies of the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the drastic changes in Eastern Europe, all serve as warnings for the CPC to maintain an awareness of potential danger in times of peace. It is precisely due to the continuous exploration of the issue of escaping the "historical cycle of order and chaos, rise and fall" by Chinese Communists that Xi Jinping emphasized that the problem of the historical cycle mentioned in the "cave dwelling dialogue" [14] "is likely not yet solved," and the root of solving it is that the CPC itself must not encounter problems.
III. Pathways for Strengthening the Driving Force for the CPC’s Persistence in Self-Revolution
Based on the analysis of the constituent elements and operating mechanisms of the Party's driving force for persisting in self-revolution, strengthening the driving force for the Party's self-revolution in the New Era should start from two aspects: on the one hand, from the subjective level, consolidating the party attributes of the CPC, enhancing the Party's mission consciousness, and tempering the Party's revolutionary capacity and governing skills, thereby improving the Party's subjective initiative in persisting in self-revolution; on the other hand, from the external level, enhancing problem awareness, broadening channels for reflecting problems, persisting in following the mass line, and establishing an effective mechanism for benign interaction between people's supervision and the Party's self-revolution, thereby strengthening the targeted effect of the political party's self-revolution.
(1) Consolidating the Ideological Foundation of the CPC's Persistence in Self-Revolution through Ideological Party Building and Strengthening the Party through Theory
"Grasping ideological education is the central link in uniting the whole Party for great political struggle." By persisting in taking ideological building as foundational construction, the CPC has always kept pace with the times and stood at their forefront. In the Gutian Congress of 1929, Mao Zedong directly faced the severity of the struggle in the ideological sphere and the intertwined nature of problems in members' ideological domains, proposing the correct line of "ideological Party building" to effectively counter the danger of a lack of drive [15], and solving the difficult problem of how to build an army composed primarily of peasants into a new type of people's army with a proletarian nature. In the course of the New Democratic Revolution, the CPC successively held the August 7th Meeting and the Zunyi Meeting, correcting Right-wing opportunism and "Left-wing" dogmatism within the Party, promoting the Party's self-revolution in the form of self-criticism, enabling the Party to promptly establish correct political and military lines, and timely saving and consolidating revolutionary achievements. Around the time of the founding of New China, the CPC conducted several rectification movements [16], carrying out self-criticism and self-correction regarding problems emerging within the Party, effectively solving prominent internal issues, purifying the intra-Party atmosphere, and strengthening the construction of the leadership subject of social revolution. In 1978, the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee proposed persisting in the ideological line of liberating the mind and seeking truth from facts, clearing away ideological problems within the Party, and completing the transition from "taking class struggle as the key link" to "taking economic construction as the center" through the proposal of the reform and opening-up policy, successfully opening the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Historical practice shows that only by "focusing on building the Party ideologically and being adept at guiding and arming the Party with scientific theory can the whole Party maintain unified thinking, firm will, and strong combat effectiveness." Historical experience inspires us to continuously strengthen education in ideals and convictions so that the Party's purpose remains engraved in the hearts of all members.
Strengthening the driving force of self-revolution must start from the fundamental point of ideological building, reinforcing the theoretical equipping of the whole Party, persisting in arming the whole Party with Marxism and its Sinicized innovative theories, and comprehensively strengthening the Party's ideological building. First, it is necessary to consolidate the guiding position of Marxism through theoretical study, persisting in deeply studying Marxist classics and learning to apply Marxist positions, viewpoints, and methods through "reading the original works and grasping the principles." Only in this way can the CPC rationally grasp social development trends and better improve its own construction and leadership capacity building. Second, it is necessary to continuously deepen the understanding of the scientific connotation and necessity of the Party's self-revolution through the study of Marxist theory that advances with the times and Sinicized Marxist theory—not only knowing its form but also its meaning, and not only knowing that it is so but also why it is so—prompting the Party's self-revolution to reach a state of the unity of knowledge and action. Third, it is necessary to consolidate the dominant position of Marxism in the ideological sphere, giving full play to the role of Marxism as a "stabilizing anchor" [17] amid diversified social trends of thought, and remaining vigilant against the penetration of Western ideologies into the ranks of Party members.
Firming up ideals and convictions is key to promoting the Party's self-revolution. To ensure the unity of will, action, and thought of the whole Party, ideological education should be conducted regularly within the Party to elevate its theoretical level, moral standards, and ideological awareness. To improve the ability of Party members and cadres to distinguish erroneous trends of thought and establish a correct "Three Outlooks" [18], it must be ensured that Party members and cadres receive regular education in Marxist theory, focusing on major affairs concerning the state and the people, standing firm in their political position, and becoming "guides" of the New Era. To guarantee the advanced nature of the CPC as a Marxist party, the theoretical literacy and theoretical consciousness of members must be improved, ensuring that member education is combined with the study of the "Four Histories" [19], continuously strengthening the study of Sinicized Marxist theory, and using theoretical study to enhance the ability to perform duties and promote the strengthening of the Party through theory.
(2) Enhancing the Will and Capability for the CPC's Self-Revolution by Carrying Forward the Spirit of Struggle
"Self-revolution is not self-adjustment based on maintaining the status quo, but a fundamental transformation that faces problems directly and turns the blade inward." It points to the contradictions between goal orientation and path planning, governing capacity and governing needs, and faith-shaping and capacity-building that exist in the great struggle of the Party in building socialism with Chinese characteristics. For over a century, the CPC has persisted in carrying forward the spirit of struggle in the course of revolutionary war and socialist construction, forming a conscious awareness of struggle, the courage to struggle, and the art of being good at struggle in the practice of pursuing truth and safeguarding the fundamental interests of the people, providing spiritual wisdom for the Party's self-revolution. Xi Jinping pointed out: "Whether one has a strong spirit of self-revolution, whether one has the tough quality of self-purification, and whether one can unremittingly struggle against one's own problems and mistakes has become the key factor determining the rise or fall of the Party." On the new journey of the New Era, the CPC will inevitably face new challenges. Strengthening the driving force of the Party's self-revolution must combine the spirit of struggle with revolutionary consciousness, ensuring that Party members and cadres maintain a state of daring to struggle, daring to "turn the blade inward," and daring to unsheathe the sword: "actively throwing themselves into various struggles, daring to unsheathe the sword before major issues of right and wrong, daring to meet difficulties head-on in the face of conflict, daring to stand up in the face of crisis and hardship, and daring to resolutely struggle against unhealthy tendencies."
The key to the organic combination of carrying forward the spirit of struggle and the Party's self-revolution lies in using the spirit of struggle to enhance the effectiveness of self-revolution. First, through cultivating the spirit of daring to struggle, the subjective initiative of Party members and cadres for self-revolution is enhanced, requiring them to maintain at all times a political consciousness of "the greater the responsibility, the more one fears and trembles" [20], actively and initiatively strengthening the transformation of their subjective world. Party members and cadres should maintain a "zero tolerance" bottom-line thinking and the courage to struggle like "a strong man cutting off his own wrist" [21], daring to point the spearhead of struggle at their own most prominent problems. Second, through tempering the ability to struggle, the practical action-power of Party members and cadres for self-revolution is enhanced, translating the development of the spirit of self-revolution into conscious action. Third, by being good at struggle, the methods and means of the Party's self-revolution are innovated. The Party's self-revolution must be combined with people's supervision, which requires Party members and cadres to be adept at collecting feedback from the masses and daring to struggle against all phenomena that harm the interests of the masses, thereby increasing the targeted effect of self-revolution and effectively improving its practical results.
Carrying forward the spirit of struggle requires transforming the theory of the Party's self-revolution into a practical force for promoting Chinese-path modernization. With a century-long journey of self-revolution, the CPC has answered the historical inquiry of how to solve its own problems and escape the "historical cycle of order and chaos, rise and fall," forging a modernized political party that stands at the forefront of the times, and through the practice of self-revolution, leading the people on the road of Chinese-path modernization via its own modernization. The current stage is the one closest to realizing the dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and also the stage with the most arduous revolutionary tasks. On one hand, in the process of building Chinese-path modernization, a series of prominent problems—such as unbalanced development, livelihood issues, and scientific and technological innovation—must be solved, posing a realistic challenge to the CPC's governance capacity building. On the other hand, the road of Chinese-path modernization has neither completely followed the old path of Western modernization nor completely decoupled from the experience of Western modernization. Instead, it solves the problems of Western modern civilization through the "absorption, criticism, and transformation" of the Western modernization model and independent practical exploration. In the process of continuous reform and opening up, the Party must both prevent the input of foreign ideologies and promptly solve the corruption phenomena bred domestically. The tide of Chinese-path modernization construction rolls forward irresistibly. Only by aiming at realistic problems, "making adaptive adjustments according to the revolutionary situation," and persisting in carrying forward the spirit of struggle can the CPC effectively stimulate the "challenge-driven impetus" of self-revolution, thereby promoting the development of the Party's self-revolution in depth.
(3) Maintaining the Lasting Vitality of the Party's Self-Revolution by Strengthening the Construction of Party Organizations and the Ranks of Party Members and Cadres
Party organizations and members are the main bodies of Party building and the executing subjects of various tasks within the Party. Forging strong Party organizations and cultivating Party members and cadres with outstanding abilities and a tough style of work can guarantee the effective completion of various tasks within the Party. Looking back at history, the CPC has focused on organizational construction since its inception, taking it as an important part of revolutionary work. During the revolutionary process, the CPC repeatedly pondered and practiced around issues such as "how to adjust the ranks of the organization," "how to improve the organizational structure," and "how to allocate organizational resources," greatly stimulating the strength of the Party membership and contributing organizational power to the victory of the revolution. The Party's organizational line for the New Era, as the guideline for the Party's organizational work, focuses on the construction of the Party's organizational system, ensuring that Party organizations are strong and powerful. Meanwhile, in the development and construction of the ranks of Party members, political standards are highlighted, emphasizing loyalty, integrity, and responsibility, the combination of professional competence and political integrity, and giving priority to integrity, ensuring that the ranks of Party members have strong capabilities and a tough style of work.
To ensure that the Party's self-revolution maintains lasting vitality, it is essential to strengthen organizational construction and the development of the ranks of Party members. This requires both excellence in top-level design [22] and the perfection of supporting systems, as well as the effective implementation of tasks, thereby achieving a synergy between top-level design and concrete execution. First, we must persist in using the principle of democratic centralism to resolve internal organizational contradictions, encouraging leading officials—especially "heads" (yibashen) [23]—to take the lead in implementing democratic centralism, while focusing on redressing issues such as "insufficient criticism," "insufficient democracy," and "insufficient centralization." Second, we must unswervingly advance the anti-corruption struggle, persisting in the coordinated progression of ideological guidance and disciplinary restriction, the joint force of "iron-fisted" punishment and educational recovery, and the close integration of strict management with "warm concern" (hou'ai) for officials. By consolidating the organizational system, we strengthen the organizational consciousness and discipline of Party members. Third, through criticism and self-criticism, we must continuously elevate and correct the thoughts and behaviors of Party members and officials. By garnering broad support and deep endorsement from the masses, they can more actively and effectively face the New Era, accept new tasks, and meet new requirements. We must leverage the role of Party organizations at all levels to make them more powerful and combative, providing the necessary organizational guarantee for the CPC’s persistence in self-revolution, and transforming them into formidable fighting fortresses [24] for realizing the Party’s leading position. Fourth, we must seize the "key minority" [25] and strengthen supervision over "heads" and leadership teams. We must utilize the role of inspections and disciplinary tours (xunshi xuncha) to ensure that the identification and rectification of problems are thoroughly implemented, thereby driving the CPC's self-revolution forward. Simultaneously, we must implement the primary responsibility for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party and standardize the system of accountability, enabling leading officials to stimulate their determination for enthusiastic entrepreneurship and career-building on the basis of not crossing "red lines."
The Party's self-revolution relies on all-around advancement from the central authorities down to the primary levels. It requires both a comprehensive layout under the correct leadership of the Party Central Committee and conscious implementation within the various tasks of Party organizations at all levels. The Party's organizational construction is the organizational guarantee of self-revolution; under the unified deployment of the Central Committee, Party organizations at all levels must implement the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party into every practical, deep, and minute detail, ensuring the development of the Party's self-revolution from all sides. The Party's self-revolution relies on the full exertion of leading officials at all levels, forging a vast number of excellent officials who maintain the political character of Communists and stand with a "spiritual backbone," and creating a vast cohort of mainstays [26] who seek no special interests for themselves, thus forming a strong subjective force for the Party’s self-revolution.
IV. Conclusion
The dynamic system of the CPC's self-revolution is a multifaceted system of interlocking and mutually influential components. The reason the CPC is able to remain true to its original aspiration and founding mission and continuously drive social revolution through self-revolution is that it has maintained an inherent genetic attribute characterized by the unity of Party spirit and people-centeredness. The CPC’s determination to continuously practice its mission provides the courage to respond to challenges and maintain its revolutionary spirit forever. At the same time, the CPC continuously consolidates its basic attributes through the practice of solving problems and overcoming difficulties. In short, comprehensively and strictly governing the Party is a journey without an end, and the Party's self-revolution is a journey without an end; its momentum is continuous and will never be exhausted. In the process of advancing Chinese-path modernization, the CPC must regard continuous self-revolution as a vital subject of study, actively practice the spirit of historical initiative, and, led by political construction, promote the dual reinforcement of the Party's ideological and organizational construction. This will ensure the healthy operation of the dynamic system of self-revolution, allowing the CPC—as the leading subject—to maintain its vitality and remain forever fresh.