Gao Yazhou and Sang Xuecheng: A Theoretical Interpretation of How the "Eight-Point Regulation" Changed China
I. Problem Statement and Literature Review Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core—based on a profound sense of responsibility for the Party's historical mission, a clear-headed understanding of the current state of Party building, and a proactive response to the expectations of the masses—formulated and implemented the Eight-Point Regulations of the Political Bureau of the 18th CPC Central Committee on Improving Working Style and Maintaining Close Ties with the Masses (hereafter referred to as the "Eight-Point Regulations"). Using this as a move to "move the pole to establish trust" [1], they have driven a complete renewal of Party conduct, government conduct, and social atmosphere, winning the trust and support of the people. Today, the Eight-Point Regulations has become a specific term for style construction and a "golden business card" for governing the Party. It refers not only to the Eight-Point Regulations as an innovative institutional arrangement for improving conduct and maintaining ties with the masses, but more importantly, to the specific norms governing the behavior of Party members and cadres, the exercise of power, and the use of public funds constructed by the entire Party as it implements the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations. These regulations have provided institutional support and practical guidance for reshaping the contemporary Chinese political ecosystem, initiating a self-revolution of profound historical significance in the New Era that has deeply changed China. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee explicitly proposed to "unremittingly implement the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations and improve institutional mechanisms for preventing and handling formalism and bureaucratism" [1] (p. 45). To unremittingly implement the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations and tirelessly push for the normalization and long-term efficacy of style construction, it is necessary to profoundly analyze the underlying logic and internal mechanisms of how and why the Eight-Point Regulations changed China, and based on this, explore the practical path of how they have transformed the social climate and become established custom.
The academic community has maintained continuous attention to the Eight-Point Regulations, accumulating a wealth of research primarily focused on their internal mechanisms, generative logic, and practical explorations of implementing their spirit. First, regarding the core connotation, main functions, and operational mechanisms of the Eight-Point Regulations and their spirit, scholars have summarized their core tenets as a political hallmark of the New Era and a specialized discourse in Party building [2]. They have elaborated on their functional roles in the self-renewal of individual Party members and organizational behavior, the shaping of the political ecosystem [3], the normalization of Party spirit education [4], and the consolidation of political power. Through in-depth investigation and the gathering of experience from implementation, researchers have discussed both theoretically and practically how to leverage institutional efficacy [5] to achieve new results in style construction. However, further scholarly interpretation is needed regarding how the Eight-Point Regulations became a political hallmark and specialized discourse of the New Era, and the process of their evolution from self-restraint clauses to institutional norms for Party governance and finally to a force leading social transformation—that is, the "how" of their change in China. Second, regarding the generative logic of the Eight-Point Regulations, scholars have systematically explained the foundational conditions and internal drivers of reform and innovation [7] from perspectives such as theoretical basis, historical evolution, practical requirements, cultural genes, and strategic needs [6]. However, this research focuses more on the preconditions of the regulations. There is a need for higher-level scholarly interpretation regarding how they utilized the power of truth granted by theory and the personal power granted by the Party’s fine traditions to break through governance dilemmas through institutional solutions and top-down hierarchical transmission—achieving the logic of "one move on the board brings the whole game to life" [2]—that is, the "why" of their change in China. Third, regarding the exploration of making style construction normalized and long-term, researchers have proposed implementation strategies at the micro-level, such as rectifying the "Four Winds," special rectification campaigns, study and education, strengthening enforcement, and institutional supply [8]. At the methodological level, they have suggested constructive practical guidelines involving systems thinking [9], systematic construction, and addressing both symptoms and root causes. Existing studies have revealed the theoretical meaning and practical guidance of the Eight-Point Regulations from multiple dimensions. However, the study of the internal mechanisms by which the Eight-Point Regulations changed China requires more depth. There is an urgent need to systematically explain the logic of how and why they changed China and to explore how they "transform the wind into custom" [3], promoting the transition of style construction from external constraint to internal self-awareness.
II. How have the Eight-Point Regulations Changed China? Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core began its work by formulating the Eight-Point Regulations, using style construction as the primary lever to set a benchmark and example for the entire Party. The whole Party has deeply implemented the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations, promoting a transition in intra-Party supervision and behavioral constraints from traditional campaign-style governance toward normalization and institutionalization. In the subjective dimension, by improving the behavioral norms for Party members and cadres, the Party has gradually broken long-standing path dependencies and fixed mindsets, achieving a self-revolution of the governing subject. In the organizational dimension, focusing on the two core areas of power exercise and public fund usage, the Party has constructed a rigorous institutional system to prevent the alienation of power, ensuring that governing power operates within the tracks of the rule of law and institutional frameworks. In the social dimension, relying on the powerful demonstration and spillover effects generated during institutional implementation, a value transmission chain has been built: wherein fine Party conduct leads to clean government conduct, which in turn drives a wholesome social atmosphere.
(i) Improving the Behavioral Norms for Party Members and Cadres As the entry point and mobilization order for improving style in the New Era, the Eight-Point Regulations successfully solved the problem of "a tiger facing a target and not knowing where to bite" [4]. They improved the behavioral norms for Party members and cadres in political life. Through strict adherence to political behavioral norms, they gradually broke old thinking patterns and behavioral inertia, leading cadres to actively abandon unreasonable vested interests and achieving a self-revolution of the governing subject. At the level of the political party organization, the Party’s cadres are the active subjects of the Party’s cause and the core carriers of its governing power. The transformation of the Party’s program, line, and policies from written documents into reality requires the specific actions of Party members and cadres. Therefore, the style of Party members and cadres is not just an external manifestation of individual behavior and Party spirit; as members of the Party organization, their conduct reflects the style of the Party and concerns the image of the governing party. For a governing party, "in governing the Party, the key is the problem of cadres" [10] (p. 328). By formulating and improving institutional mechanisms to impose norms and constraints on the behavior of Party members and cadres, the Party can avoid behavioral disorder among leading cadres as much as possible, ensuring that political behavior always follows specific political ethical norms and operational rules. Regulating the political behavior of leading cadres also serves as a check on the political power granted to them, clarifying the boundaries of power and preventing the self-expansion of public authority.
"Style construction is a process of correcting improper behavior among Party members and cadres; its essence is the supervision and restraint of the exercise of power" [11]. As a governing party, leading cadres are the concrete carriers of the Party's governing power; they embody specific political power and possess a degree of dominance in the governance practices and political operations of the Party and the state. At the level of governance practice, starting with the improvement of behavioral norms for Party members and cadres in political activities, highlighting political standards and requirements, and strictly enforcing political discipline and rules is, in essence, the supervision and restraint of power. After the 18th CPC National Congress, facing a series of long-accumulated and newly emerging contradictions and problems within the Party—especially the negative effects of the market economy and the hedonism and extravagance brought by rising consumerism—the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core decided to begin the Party's construction with style construction. They started by implementing the Eight-Point Regulations, taking the key step in the revolutionary forging of the entire Party. The Central Committee and relevant departments formulated a series of institutional norms around the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations. They established behavioral norms for official hospitality, travel, official vehicles, meetings and training, allowances and subsidies, as well as weddings and funerals, aligned with social trends and political values of the New Era. These norms required Party members and cadres to change ingrained negative thinking and habits and to abandon improper vested interests, effectively upholding social fairness and justice.
(ii) Strengthening Institutional Norms to Prevent the Alienation of Public Power The Party's power comes from the people and its foundation is in the people. Party organizations at all levels have focused on the restraint of public power and the regulation of public fund usage, building a rigorous institutional system to prevent the alienation of power. This ensures that power operates orderly within a legal framework and consistently adheres to the fundamental purpose of wholeheartedly serving the people. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Public funds are 'public' and not a single cent can be spent recklessly; public power is for the people and not a shred can be used for private gain" [12] (pp. 36-37). For Party members and cadres, the "Four Winds" are not merely issues of individual worldview or values; they are external symptoms of the alienation of power. They represent the use of political power by specific actors to plunder and exploit social resources, constituting a betrayal of the Party's nature and purpose, damaging the Party's image, and eroding its foundation. As a political organization, the CPC's leadership and governing power are granted by the people; the Party represents and defends the fundamental interests of the broadest masses. However, in practice, power cannot be separated from the individual and organizational carriers. Due to the dual nature of individuals—being both self-interested and altruistic—an imbalance in the tension between the two inevitably leads to problems of power vacancy, displacement, or overreach. In such cases, cadres "instead of being servants of society, become its masters" [13] (p. 110), turning against society. In political practice, this imbalance stems from both ideological issues—the loss of ideals and beliefs—and external "hunting" [5] by interest groups. More importantly, it results from institutional deficiencies that leave power checks and balances insufficient. The support of the people is the greatest politics; the people are the Party's greatest source of confidence. "As a political organization, a party must be based on the recognition of the people, and its style largely determines whether it can win their support" [14]. Focusing on implementing the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations, the Central Committee and relevant departments issued regulations on strictly curbing formalism and bureaucratism, and on auditing official housing, vehicles, hospitality, travel, gifts, and allowances. The essence of these moves is the supervision of the two key links: the exercise of power and public finance. By clarifying boundaries for power and spending, the Party corrects power alienation. Through strict budget control, financial transparency, and internal controls, it has enforced fiscal discipline and strictly limited general expenditures. This has resolutely corrected the previous "maladaptive winds" [6] of impulsive investment and arbitrary spending by government departments, optimized the rational and legal allocation of government spending, and improved the efficiency of public funds. This ensures political power operates according to norms on a legal track, providing an organizational guarantee for the systemic optimization of the intra-Party political ecosystem.
(iii) Leading Social Atmosphere through Party and Government Conduct By virtue of the powerful demonstration and spillover effects produced during its implementation, the Eight-Point Regulations achieved a value reconstruction in which fine Party conduct leads to clean government conduct, and clean government conduct drives a wholesome social atmosphere. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has insisted on both rectifying the "Four Winds" and establishing new virtues. They have promoted a top-down transformation of social customs, nourishing the political ecosystem, cultural soil, and social traditions with a fine style of work. First, they focused on reshaping Party and government conduct. As the external manifestation of the nature of the Party and government, these conducts are a concentrated display of political ideology and are vital to the Party's creativity, cohesion, and combat effectiveness. Being detached from the people is the greatest danger the Party faces after coming to power. Since the implementation of the Eight-Point Regulations, from the central leadership setting an example to Party organizations at all levels implementing its spirit, new measures have been formulated to advance the construction of Party conduct and clean government. By breaking through specific issues to drive the resolution of broader problems, the Party has severely cracked down on collusion between officials and businessmen and the funneling of interests. This has cut off the channels for obtaining improper benefits through gift-giving and banquets, strictly limited the space for rent-seeking, and driven a profound reshaping of the behavioral paradigms and ideological concepts of Party members and cadres. It has realized a renewal of Party and government conduct. Second, this has led the social atmosphere toward goodness. The leadership of the CPC is the most defining feature and the greatest strength of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Party and government conduct serve as a beacon for social customs. "Following the example of those above is the law of changing customs; leading by example is the magic weapon for gathering hearts and minds" [15].
The Eight-Point Regulations do not merely belong to the category of the Party’s self-construction; they also exert a radiating and driving influence on social values and social atmosphere through the concrete practice of governing the Party and through political ideology. The public servant consciousness, mass orientation, and values of arduous struggle, integrity, and self-discipline advocated by the Eight-Point Regulations integrate the "power of truth" embodied in the Party’s correct theories with the "power of personality" embodied in the Party’s fine style of work [7]. This enables the broad masses of Party members and cadres to establish correct values, views on political achievements, and moral outlooks in the depths of their hearts. At the same time, this political ideology influences the development of social values and the social atmosphere within the specific practice of governing the Party. The Eight-Point Regulations persist in simultaneously rectifying the "Four Winds" and establishing "new winds" [8]. By establishing a new atmosphere, they strengthen the appeal of mainstream values and guide the formation of a positive, upward-tending, and virtuous social fashion. This drives all people to further establish correct views on public versus private, right versus wrong, and righteousness versus profit, thereby assisting the construction of socialist spiritual civilization, enhancing social cohesion and centripetal force, and promoting a continuous improvement in social and folk customs.
III. How the Eight-Point Regulations Changed China
As a concrete institutional arrangement focusing on the improvement of work style and aimed at fostering close ties between the Party and the masses, how did the Central Eight-Point Regulations break through the scope of governance in a single field to produce a global and far-reaching influence, subsequently becoming a key fulcrum for promoting the Party’s self-revolution and historically changing China? The fundamental reason lies in the fact that the Eight-Point Regulations achieved an organic unity of the Party’s power of truth and power of personality. They reified the "people-centered" value concept into operable daily behavioral norms and reshaped the emotional identification and behavioral self-awareness of Party members and cadres by upholding and carrying forward the Party’s fine traditions. Through a governance logic of institutional breakthroughs, systemic construction, and rigid execution, the Regulations intervened via "critical minor matters" [9]—such as investigative research, the style of meetings and documents, and official travel—to build an all-round, multi-dimensional institutional system for work style construction. Through strict execution, they realized a transformation from concrete behavioral constraints to an enhancement of governance efficacy. Furthermore, through the transmission of responsibility, pressure, and behavioral demonstrations across hierarchical levels, compliance with the Regulations gradually transformed from an external requirement into the behavioral habits of Party members and cadres, providing a solid guarantee of work style for the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
(1) The Unity of the Power of Truth and the Power of Personality
The Central Eight-Point Regulations unify the power of truth embodied in the Party's correct theories with the power of personality embodied in the Party's fine style of work. They respond to the expectations of the people for a fair, just, clean, and efficient governance environment. They translate the grand narrative of "people-first" into subtle practices of improving work style and maintaining close ties with the masses. By upholding and carrying forward the Party’s fine traditions, they reshape the emotional identification of Party members and cadres, reifying this through the personalized behavior of every cadre. This achieves a unity of theoretical, emotional, and behavioral identification, winning broad social recognition and mass support, and consolidating the social foundation for the Party’s long-term governance.
"As a Marxist governing party, our Party must not only have a powerful power of truth, but also a powerful power of personality; the power of truth is centrally embodied in our Party’s correct theories, and the power of personality is centrally embodied in our Party's fine style of work." [22]p3
After the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core persisted in the fundamental political value of putting the people first. It clearly emphasized that "it takes a good blacksmith to forge good steel" [10], beginning its breakthrough by formulating and implementing the Central Eight-Point Regulations. This solved the problem of what to grasp and how to grasp it regarding work style construction in the New Era. Guided by scientific theory and the political courage of self-revolution, the Party faced head-on and worked to resolve prominent internal problems such as formalism, bureaucratism, "privilege-seeking" mindsets, and alienation from the masses. It persisted in the fine styles of integrating theory with practice, maintaining close ties with the masses, and practicing criticism and self-criticism. It carried forward the glorious traditions of modesty, prudence, and arduous struggle, while nurturing a new atmosphere of seeking truth from facts and maintaining integrity.
The power of truth originates from Marxism and its Sinicized and modernized correct theories. These theories correctly reveal the objective laws of social development and provide scientific methods for understanding and transforming the world. As the Party’s ideological cornerstone and guide to action, they endow the Party with strong persuasiveness, leadership, and combat effectiveness, providing a "clear direction of development, orderly space for development, and standardized logic of action" for governing the Party in the New Era [23]. Popularity (the People-nature) is the essential attribute of Marxism, and the people's standpoint is the fundamental standpoint of Marxism. The Central Eight-Point Regulations persist in the principle of "people first" and firmly grasp the fundamental question of "who are we for?" By requiring adherence to the principle of always representing the fundamental interests of the broadest possible majority of the Chinese people, the Regulations naturally occupy the high ground of truth and morality. They possess irrefutable legitimacy and the "discourse power" for governing the Party in the New Era, enabling them to win the heartfelt support of the masses.
The Eight-Point Regulations are constraints on the individual behavior of Party members and cadres, the operation of public power, and the use of public finances. They maintain a high-pressure posture of zero tolerance toward behaviors that harm the interests of the masses, focusing on solving the "evil winds" and deep-seated ailments that affect the comfort and satisfaction of the common people. They forcefully correct various "formalist" problems that existed in the past. Their fundamental purpose is to prevent damage to the interests of the people and ensure that power always serves the people. Precisely because the Eight-Point Regulations are deeply rooted in the people and reflect the people's will, they can gain the support of the masses, providing an inexhaustible impetus for their extensive implementation and continuous efficacy. Theory and style, truth and personality, are like the two wheels of a cart or the two wings of a bird. Truth without personality renders theory hollow and weak; personality without truth causes action to lose its direction. The Eight-Point Regulations are not only regulations and prohibitions that reify the requirements of the power of truth, but even more so, they are concrete norms for the outward expression of the "power of personality" in the behavioral style of Party members and cadres. The close integration of the two ensures that in the New Era, the power of truth and the power of personality are transformed into a series of visible and tangible actions—rectifying the "Four Winds," going deep into the grassroots, and maintaining integrity—making abstract theories and fine traditions perceptible, knowable, and believable.
Only when Communists possess the power of personality can they be worthy of their title and win the praise of the people. The power of personality originates from the Party’s fine style of work; it is the outward expression of the Party’s ideals, beliefs, and "purpose consciousness" [11] in the words and deeds of Party members and cadres. It is the concrete unfolding and vivid manifestation of the power of truth in practice, serving as the carrier of the Party’s image and its emotional bond with the people. It endows the Party with strong affinity, credibility, and appeal, allowing the Party’s theories to be truly accepted and identified with by the masses. The power of truth is abstract; it must be perceived by the masses through the concrete, personalized behaviors of millions of Party members and cadres. It requires reshaping the Party’s style in the New Era by upholding and carrying forward fine traditions, using the Party's power of personality to provide the source of power for the Eight-Point Regulations to take root. For over a century, in the long-term practice of leading the people in revolution, construction, and reform, the Party has formed a series of fine traditions, styles of work, a great revolutionary spirit, and noble moral standards. These constitute the powerful power of personality of the CPC and are the key to the Party’s ability to continuously consolidate the will of the Party and the people, uniting the whole nation to move from victory to victory. Revolutionary traditions and fine styles of work, such as arduous struggle, the mass line, and investigative research, are the practical crystallizations tempered by the Party through blood and fire. They are the Party’s "family heirlooms," representing the distinct characteristics and unique advantages that distinguish the CPC from other political parties. The Eight-Point Regulations unify the power of truth with the power of personality: the power of truth provides direction and confidence for the power of personality, while the power of personality provides a carrier and momentum for the power of truth. The two complement each other, transforming the Party's lofty ideals and fine style into behavioral norms for Party members and cadres, ensuring they truly take root.
(2) The Governance Logic of Promoting Work Style Construction through Institutionalization
Through the governance logic of institutional breakthroughs, systemic construction, and rigid execution, the Central Eight-Point Regulations began with "critical minor matters" such as investigative research, the style of meetings and documents, and official travel. They transformed the Party’s fine style of work into rigid institutional norms, constructed an all-round and multi-dimensional institutional system for work style construction, and strengthened the rigidity of institutional execution. This achieved a transformation from concrete behavioral constraints to an enhancement of governance efficacy, solving the long-standing defects of work style construction being a "passing wind" or "campaign-style" effort. It provided a successful paradigm and practical sample for promoting the "comprehensive and strict governance of the Party" and the Party's "self-revolution."
First, institutional breakthroughs via "critical minor matters." General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Minor matters and details are a mirror that can reflect a person's character and style. Within minor matters and details, there is Party spirit, principle, and personality" [24]p38. The Eight-Point Regulations chose "critical minor matters" as the entry point for governing the Party in the New Era. On the one hand, this was because micro-phenomena—such as corruption hidden in mooncake gift boxes or wastefulness "on wheels" (official vehicle misuse)—reflect the macro-risks of the loss of discipline in public power. It was necessary to establish and improve behavioral norms for Party members and cadres, using institutionalized governance carriers to promote work style construction and turn the Party's fine traditions from "soft constraints" into "hard rules." On the other hand, rectifying seemingly inconspicuous work style issues makes it easier to build a governance consensus. The resistance to implementing such institutions is lower, and the practical effects are significant. Thus, it is possible to use a single point to drive larger changes, using breakthroughs at critical nodes to trigger systemic transformation—this was the "key to establishing credibility" [12].
Second, the transition from behavioral constraints on Party members and cadres to the systemic construction of work style institutions. "The establishment of rules is an ideological process, but even more so a real process of making relationships between people standardized, orderly, and scientific" [25]. Issues of work style are recurrent and stubborn; they cannot be solved overnight or "accomplished at one stroke" [13]. The "institutional cage" must be tightened in an all-round way, promoting the systematic construction of work-style institutional norms. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, with a firm determination to eradicate bad habits and maladministration, has focused on using institutions to govern the Party, power, and officials. Through rigorous institutional design and rigid constraints, they have rectified the "Four Winds," worked to plug institutional loopholes in systems and mechanisms, and advanced step-by-step with "consistent effort" [14], driving the Eight-Point Regulations to take root. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "The key is to grasp the priority of institutional construction, using the improvement of systems for official reception, financial budgeting and auditing, assessment and accountability, and supervision and guarantees as a starting point, to strive to establish a multi-dimensional and all-round institutional system" [26]p364.
From the initial exploration of formulating the Central Eight-Point Regulations after the 18th National Congress, to the implementation of the spirit of the Regulations by the whole Party—with "strictness" at the forefront and "practicality" as the foundation—the Party has formulated and revised matching institutional norms. This has reified the Party's will at the institutional level, forming a rigorous institutional network for work style construction. Through the systemic construction of work style institutions, leading regulations such as the Regulations on Practicing Thrift and Opposing Waste in Party and Government Organs, the Standards of Integrity and Self-Discipline of the CPC, and the Regulations of the CPC on Disciplinary Actions have been formed. Specific supporting systems for rectifying formalism and bureaucratism, official reception and travel, and official vehicles and office space have been improved. Procedural institutional settings for supervision, management, assessment, evaluation, accountability, punishment, and education/training have been promoted. These ensure that institutions link with one another and act in concert, forming a long-term, stable behavioral constraint and value guidance for Party members and cadres.
Third, strengthen the rigid execution of systems and safeguard institutional authority and efficacy. As the institutionalized manifestation of conduct construction, the vitality of the Central Eight-Point Regulations lies in their execution. While the Eight-Point Regulations—as an institutional setup reifying the Party's improvement of work style—take the form of written norms, their capacity to truly exercise behavioral restraint and value-based guidance depends on the guarantee of institutional executive power. This necessitates holding individuals accountable and imposing sanctions for violations, thereby maintaining the authority of the system as an expression of the Party's will and fully realizing the efficacy of institutional constraints. On the one hand, institutional deterrence is established through an attitude of zero tolerance—where discipline is strictly enforced and every violation is investigated—coupled with precise accountability. The Eight-Point Regulations persist in strict disciplinary enforcement and precise accountability, showing no leniency toward the "Four Winds" that provoke strong public resentment—such as the private use of official vehicles, dining on public funds, and food waste. Every discovery leads to an investigation without exception regardless of rank, thereby eliminating serious latent threats within the Party, achieving a top-down shift in conduct, and safeguarding the seriousness and authority of the system. On the other hand, the combination of normalized supervision and specialized rectification enhances the efficacy of supervision and disciplinary enforcement. By refining the supervision system for conduct construction and establishing a comprehensive oversight framework centered on intra-Party supervision, the behavior of Party members and cadres is monitored on a regular basis to ensure the Eight-Point Regulations do not become mere formalities or lose their essence. In daily work, supervision, discipline, and accountability are strengthened through regular inspections and random spot checks, combined with open and undercover investigations as well as public reporting. This ensures that the requirements of the Eight-Point Regulations are sustainedly implemented. Simultaneously, specialized rectification [15] is carried out for prominent and common problems. Targeted actions are launched in specific fields to conduct concentrated cleanups, striving to eradicate the soil in which bad conduct persists and spreads. The combination of specialized rectification and normalized supervision has formed an effective, linked regulatory mechanism that can concentrate forces to solve prominent problems in the short term while achieving long-term institutional constraints.
(3) The Practical Interaction of Constructing Behavioral Order through Hierarchical Transmission
The evolution of the Central Eight-Point Regulations from institutional constraint to the construction of behavioral order is a gradual process. Through the organic unity of grasping the "key minority" [16] and leading the "vast majority," the transmission of responsibility, pressure, and behavioral demonstration between hierarchies shapes the behavioral habits of Party members and cadres. This promotes the organic unity of the standardized exercise of power, procedural operations, and normalized supervision, achieving a holistic transformation of behavioral order. The formation of conduct problems has complex historical origins and structural causes, encompassing both institutional defects—such as the absence of systems—and subjective factors like cognitive biases among some cadres, while also being influenced by the latent effects of informal institutions like traditional customs. The vitality of a system lies in its execution, and the key to execution lies in people—specifically, the practical interaction of concrete actors within the field of institutional practice. As the saying goes, "Winds form above, and customs are transformed below" [17]; leading cadres, as the "key minority" in conduct construction, are the primary bearers of the responsibility for governing the Party and also exert a significant behavioral demonstration effect. Grasping the leading cadres means grasping the core link of conduct construction. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Persist in implementing the spirit of the Central Eight-Point Regulations with perseverance, and grasp the 'key minority' to lead by example" [35]. The Central Eight-Point Regulations stated clearly from the outset: "Start with the Party Central Committee and high-ranking Party cadres, leading by example level by level, to promote the alignment of the entire chain of primary responsibility for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party and supervisory responsibility" [36]. By setting a behavioral benchmark for the whole Party through practical action, a powerful political momentum and institutional pressure have been accumulated. This drives the formation of a conduct construction pattern characterized by level-by-level transmission and universal participation, gradually permeating values such as the clean use of power and serving the people into the behavioral patterns, modes of thinking, and internal cognitions of Party members and cadres. Through the long-term stable institutional normative force in the field of execution, as well as hierarchical responsibility and exemplary behavior, the Eight-Point Regulations internalize external constraints into behavioral habits. This achieves a shift in the Party's governance from the short-term maintenance of individual behavior to the inertial shaping of group behavior, and from external rule constraints to the construction of behavioral order, highlighting the synergistic unity of the rule of law and the rule of order.
The broad masses of Party members, as the "vast majority" of conduct construction, are the key to implementing the spirit of the Central Eight-Point Regulations. Only by managing the "vast majority" can the Eight-Point Regulations achieve full coverage and institutional norms be transformed into a universally followed cultural fashion. Conduct construction does not focus solely on the "key minority"; it relies even more on the political atmosphere jointly created by the "vast majority." General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "A serious and earnest intra-Party political life and a healthy, clean intra-Party political ecosystem are the soil in which the Party's fine conduct is generated and the source of the Party's vigorous vitality" [37]. Since the implementation of the Regulations, several institutional norms for intra-Party political life have been refined. Systems such as the "Three Meetings and One Lesson" [18], democratic life meetings, organizational life meetings, and democratic appraisal of Party members have been strictly executed in practice. This clarifies the daily norms of conduct for Party members while simultaneously enhancing their self-restraint and governance efficacy. It promotes the continuous consolidation and deepening of their ideals, convictions, and Party spirit [19] in practice, turning compliance with regulations from an external requirement into a behavioral habit. Through the organic unity of grasping the "key minority" and leading the "vast majority," and through continuous hierarchical transmission and practical interaction, the Eight-Point Regulations form stable expectations and external constraints on the behavioral choices of cadres. This fosters a sense of institutional awe and rule-following among cadres, guiding their political behavior to strictly align with intra-Party institutional norms. It drives the gradual transformation of disciplinary requirements from external coercive constraints into individual behavioral habits, achieving a holistic change in intra-Party political life and the political ecosystem. Furthermore, through spillover effects, it influences social atmosphere, manifesting the unique advantages and powerful vitality of Chinese-path party governance.
IV. How do the Eight-Point Regulations "Transform Conduct into Custom"?
To "transform conduct into custom" (huafengchengpu) [20] is the direction for improving conduct in the New Era. This is by no means an overnight task; the key lies in persisting over the long term. It requires synergistic efforts across multiple dimensions: promoting the long-term operation of systems, ideological tempering, education in Party spirit, and cultural cultivation. This pushes conduct construction to shift from external constraint to internal conscious action.
(1) Continuously Promoting the Long-Term Operation of Systems
To promote the normalization and long-term efficacy of conduct construction on the New Journey [21], a deep-level leap is required from normative construction to long-term operation. Institutional texts must be transformed into stable, continuous forces for behavioral restraint and value orientation, laying a solid institutional foundation for the Eight-Point Regulations to transform conduct into custom.
First, improve the efficacy of institutional operation through precise normative construction. The vitality of a system lies in its scientific nature and operability. In refining the institutional stipulations for conduct construction, the primary task is to conduct targeted optimization of the shortfalls in the existing institutional system. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "We must both base ourselves on the present to effectively solve prominent problems reflected by the masses, and look to the long term to establish and improve long-term mechanisms that promote Party members and cadres' persistence in being for the people, pragmatic, and upright" [38]. We must dig deep through the surface of conduct problems to uncover the institutional loopholes, operational defects, and mechanism deficiencies hidden behind them. We must focus on solving problems such as "the mechanical copying of supporting intra-Party regulations, emphasizing quantity over quality, setting excessively high institutional standards, or the gradual weakening of requirements at each level" [39]. According to the practical requirements of new situations and tasks, the existing achievements and lessons must be transformed into effective institutional norms and vigorously executed mechanisms for the New Journey. Through reform and institutional innovation, the implementation details of the Central Eight-Point Regulations should be refined to enhance their scientific nature and authority, clarifying the norms of conduct for cadres to make them more operable and targeted. For example, by establishing systems for ledger management, tracking effectiveness, and accountability, key tasks—such as comprehensive rural revitalization, ecological environmental protection, and further comprehensively deepening reform—can be managed via lists (清单式管理). Progress should be reported regularly, and supervision of implementation strengthened to ensure the Central Committee's decisions take root. "One must not be slow to react to one's own existing problems, nor can the handling be sluggish and weak" [40]. Regarding formalism and bureaucratism in the implementation of the Central Committee's major decisions—which lead to inadequate implementation and strong public dissatisfaction—the political and disciplinary responsibilities of the relevant parties must be strictly investigated.
Second, the long-term binding force of the Central Eight-Point Regulations stems from the long-term nature and continuity of institutional execution. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "The Central Eight-Point Regulations are not a five-year or ten-year regulation; they are long-term, effective iron rules and hard benchmarks" [41]. As an institutional arrangement constraining the behavior of cadres, the Regulations' binding force lies in the cadres' comprehension and the actual effect of their execution of the Party's will to improve work style. Using the system as a carrier clarifies behavioral boundaries, penalizes violations, and rewards positive adherence. This achieves a transformation in concepts, a reshaping of relations, and a change in behavior among cadres, forming the Party's fine conduct and a positive, healthy intra-Party political culture in the New Era. On the one hand, a high-pressure posture for penalizing violations must be maintained. On the New Journey, to implement the spirit of the Central Eight-Point Regulations, we must both solidify the foundation for a permanent cure (治本) and dare to use the sharp tools for temporary relief (治标); we must use iron discipline to rectify various defiant violations and strengthen the coercive constraints and punitive controls of the system. On the other hand, the feedback mechanism for rectification and implementation must be refined. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Rectification and implementation must prevent a 'brave start but weak finish' (虎头蛇尾), delays without resolution, 'paper-based' or fake rectification, the replacement of implementation with simple accountability of grassroots cadres, or the use of rectification as a pretext to increase the burden on the grassroots through endless forms and data reporting" [42]. We must conduct in-depth analysis of the institutional loopholes and weak links exposed in the investigation of conduct problems, pushing the responsible subjects to analyze the root causes, formulate feasible targeted measures, and improve relevant work mechanisms to promptly mend the gaps and optimize the overall efficacy of institutional operation.
(2) Strengthening the Ideological Foundation through Ideological Tempering and Education in Party Spirit
Promoting the leap from behavior under external constraint to conscious behavior born of internal identification is the core move for turning conduct into custom in the New Era. Its essence is to transform external norms—such as institutional constraints and disciplinary requirements—into the ideological and political consciousness of cadres, finally forming a value consensus and civilized fashion shared by the whole society. The behavioral choices of cadres are limited by the external coercive constraints of institutional norms on one hand, and depend on their internal value judgments and self-restraint on the other. On the New Journey, to promote the normalization and long-term efficacy of conduct construction, we must "both strictly manage and deeply educate; both establish virtue and establish rules; and persist in combining positive advocacy with negative sanctions" [43]. Through the empowerment of ideological tempering and education in Party spirit, we can promote the deep transformation of cadres from external regulation to internal identification.
First, strengthen theoretical arming to drive cadres to build a systematic cognitive framework regarding the Eight-Point Regulations and conduct construction from its ideological roots. Theoretical arming is the ideological engine for turning conduct into custom, providing cognitive support and a source of power for long-term efficacy; the Eight-Point Regulations, as its concrete practical form, translate abstract theory into clear behavioral norms. Thought is the precursor to action. Value identification originates from theoretical identification and value resonance with institutional norms and their theoretical basis. Only by guiding cadres to grasp the political significance and value core of conduct construction through theoretical arming can a deep transformation from heteronomy to autonomy be achieved, laying a solid ideological foundation for lasting improvement. The key to "transforming conduct into custom" lies in cadres turning institutional requirements into internal identification and behavioral habits, while the Party's innovative theories in the New Era provide the direction and endogenous drive. Party members and cadres should take the study and education for implementing the spirit of the Central Eight-Point Regulations as an opportunity to earnestly learn General Secretary Xi Jinping's important expositions on strengthening conduct construction. They must accurately grasp the political logic, value core, and practical orientation of the Regulations. Through self-examination, they should continuously check their own conduct, ideological understanding, and mental outlook. They should be adept at discerning trends from budding problems and grasping internal necessity from accidental occurrences, transforming the external prohibitions of "what must not be done" into the internal cognition of "why it cannot be done and how it should be done."
Second, we must continuously strengthen education on Party spirit and the cultivation of Party spirit, achieving a deep-level transformation from institutional heteronomy to behavioral autonomy. As a compulsory course for Communists to cultivate their character and spirit, education on Party spirit serves as the ideological foundation and value core for transforming conduct into custom. The Eight-Point Regulations act as the practical carrier and the yardstick of evaluation for education on Party spirit, providing the most direct and realistic arena for such education. Problems of conduct are, in essence, problems of Party spirit. As specific institutional norms, the initial implementation of the Eight-Point Regulations relied on the intensity of strict supervision, discipline enforcement, and accountability. However, once Party members and cadres develop a value-based identification with the Eight-Point Regulations through education on Party spirit, institutional constraints gradually transform into internal convictions. At this stage, the Eight-Point Regulations are no longer rules to be passively obeyed, but habits to be proactively practiced. The merit of conduct construction lies in persistent efforts [22], and the formation of a prevailing atmosphere depends on daily cultivation; thus, education on Party spirit must be integrated into the entire process of education and training.
"Education on Party spirit should focus on ideals and convictions, the Party's purpose, revolutionary traditions, and education on Party style and clean government" [51] (p. 12), so as to replenish the "spiritual calcium" [23] of Party members and cadres and continuously enhance their "political immunity." This facilitates a deep-level transformation from "treating the symptoms" to "addressing the root causes" within incremental change, ensuring that the breeze of integrity truly flows with the pulse of the era. Party organizations at all levels, Party schools (academies of governance), and cadre colleges for Party spirit education should include Party spirit education as a compulsory course in cadre training. They should innovate educational content and formats, conducting systematic study and training through centralized rotations as well as layered and classified training sessions. This involves guiding Party members and cadres to uphold the spiritual pursuits of Communists through education on ideals and convictions; establishing a people-centered view of political achievements through education on the Party's purpose; persisting in carrying forward the Party’s fine style through education on revolutionary traditions; and cultivating the spiritual soil of "not wanting to be corrupt" and a healthy political ecosystem through education on Party style and clean government. This ensures that Communists maintain their true political character and fundamentally resolves problems such as the wavering of ideals and convictions, weak adherence to principles, and distorted views of political achievements among some Party members and cadres, thereby clearing the ideological obstacles for the continuous implementation of the Eight-Point Regulations.
(III) Advancing the Transformation of Conduct into Custom through Cultural Cultivation
For any institution to truly take root in the hearts of the people, it must be embedded in specific cultural soil and gain common recognition and emotional resonance at the cultural level. Cultural cultivation imperceptibly permeates values such as integrity in governance, diligence and frugality, and pragmatism for the people into the organization's daily atmosphere, discourse system, and interpersonal interactions. By constructing cultural identity to realize the conscious transformation of behavioral patterns, it helps push from the overwhelming momentum of "not daring to be corrupt" toward the conscious realm of "not wanting to be corrupt."
First, the effectiveness of cultural cultivation depends on the attractiveness and influence of its carriers, which must be embedded in the key scenarios of the work and lives of Party members and cadres. Party organizations at all levels should develop a positive and healthy intra-Party political culture, promote the spiritual lineage of Chinese Communists originating from the Great Founding Spirit of the Party [24], and vigorously advance the construction of a culture of integrity. By thickening the cultural soil of integrity and public service—through specialized study, the creation of cultural spaces for integrity, and the optimization of cultural guidance within workflows—conduct requirements can be integrated into daily behavioral norms. This transforms integrity culture into a daily element, continuously enhancing its influence and penetration, promoting the firmness of ideals and convictions and the purity of Party spirit, and collectively advancing the construction of integrity culture within Party organizations to cultivate the spiritual soil and political ecosystem of "not wanting to be corrupt."
Second, the effectiveness of cultural cultivation depends on the initiative of individual Party members and cadres, requiring the mobilization of self-motivation through improving moral cultivation and meeting personal development needs. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that Party members and cadres should continuously improve their cultural literacy and spiritual realm, "guiding everyone to rectify the heart and cultivate the self, discipline themselves and manage their families, serve as honest officials, and consciously resist the erosion of unhealthy tendencies" [52] (p. 386). The broad masses of Party members and cadres should actively draw cultural nutrients for maintaining integrity and rectitude from fine traditional Chinese culture, cultivate a spiritual realm of self-discipline and devotion to the public, and consciously act as models of "governing with virtue" [25] and rectifying the heart and cultivating the self. They must make good use of Red Resources [26], inherit the "genes of integrity" from fine revolutionary traditions, strictly restrain their own integrity and behavior, and strictly abide by the Party's discipline and rules. They should use advanced socialist culture to nourish the value pursuit of integrity in office and the impartial use of power, promoting a social atmosphere where integrity is honored and corruption is shamed, and where people strive for upward mobility and goodness.
The deep goal of cultural cultivation is to build broad social identification with institutional values. The values advocated by the Eight-Point Regulations themselves are highly consistent with social public order and good customs, earning the heartfelt support of the masses. Since their implementation, by effectively solving prominent problems strongly reflected by the masses, the social identification of the people with the Eight-Point Regulations has been further strengthened. This enhancement of social identification has further compressed the living space for conduct problems, creating a favorable external environment for the Eight-Point Regulations to become custom. Culture is essentially a set of shared cognitive frameworks and behavioral norms. Through cultural carriers such as typical publicity, ceremonial activities, education and training, and literary and artistic works, the positive narrative of conduct construction is continuously told and reinforced. This can form a common expectation among Party members, cadres, and the broad masses regarding "what constitutes good conduct" and "what is appropriate behavior." Consequently, this universal expectation constitutes a powerful soft constraint, ensuring that violators of the Eight-Point Regulations face not only institutional punishment but also public opinion pressure and moral scrutiny from the cultural environment.
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that we must "promote traditional Chinese virtues and strengthen the construction of family, family education, and family traditions" [42] (p. 44). The construction of cultural cultivation at the social level requires innovating cultural practice activities and creating new types of cultural products. Through new media matrices, artistic sublimation, and the shaping of role models, the institutional requirements of the Eight-Point Regulations can be transformed into vivid cultural expressions. By integrating Socialist Core Values into social development and daily life, we can enrich the supply of high-quality products and services for integrity culture. This guides the whole society to consciously abide by the law and follow public order and good customs, resolutely opposing money-worship, hedonism, extreme individualism, and historical nihilism [27]. It establishes good social moral trends, encouraging people to strive to be demonstrators of socialist morality and maintainers of good customs. By using public opinion pressure, moral scrutiny, and the optimization of the cultural ecosystem, we can consolidate the practical results of the Eight-Point Regulations and advance the transformation of conduct construction into custom.
About the Authors: Gao Yazhou is a doctoral student at the School of Marxism, Hohai University. Sang Xuecheng is a professor at the Jiangsu Provincial Party School of the CPC (Jiangsu Academy of Governance), a doctoral supervisor at the School of Marxism, Nanjing University, and the Dean and Chief Expert of the Jiangsu Institute for Innovation in Party Building Theory and Practice. Source: Journal of China Jinggangshan Leadership Academy, Issue 6, 2025. Editor: Huihui