Li Youxin and Lei Chengwen: The Great Significance of Mao Zedong's People-Centered Discourse System
Mao Zedong’s discourse system on the people encompasses various expressive forms, such as discourses on the people as the subject, people’s democracy, serving the people, and the mass line, possessing distinct theoretical characteristics and rich ideological content. Within this system, "the people" is undoubtedly the core concept.
Concepts are the basic constituent units of a discourse system, while a discourse system is an organic whole formed around certain ideological themes, including different levels of content such as concepts, judgments, and reasoning, which present corresponding semantic and pragmatic functions within specific contexts. It is precisely within a concrete totality that a concept acquires its determinate morphological meaning. Therefore, the ideological connotations of the concept of "the people" can only be accurately revealed within the overall framework of Mao Zedong’s discourse system on the people. The author believes that this research not only helps deepen the understanding of the logic behind the construction of Mao Zedong Thought’s discourse, but also possesses theoretical significance for grasping the formation mechanism of the Communist Party of China's (CPC) discourse system and enhancing theoretical self-awareness regarding the discourse system of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
I. The Establishment of People-Centered Discourse: The Sinicized Development of Marxist Class Discourse
Marxist class discourse is a discursive form centered on the theory of class analysis, formed by Marx and Engels within their theoretical system, and serves as an important foundation for the theory of proletarian revolution. In the ideological confrontation with the bourgeois discourse on "the people," Marx and Engels established a class discourse with the proletariat as the revolutionary subject by revealing class antagonisms within the social structure. Within this theoretical framework, Lenin further developed a revolutionary discourse with the working people as the political subject, emphasizing that the worker-peasant alliance is the "guarantee of achievement and final victory" for the proletariat. Although Marx, Engels, and Lenin all paid attention to the status of the peasantry in the revolution to varying degrees, within their theoretical context, the peasantry was generally regarded as a stratum lacking stable political independence. Analyzing the problem of smallholding peasants in France, Marx and Engels pointed out that peasants "cannot represent themselves; they must be represented," [1] believing that only when their socio-economic status transformed and approached that of the proletariat could they form a stable revolutionary force. Lenin pointed out that under historical conditions where the struggle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie intensified and social relations underwent drastic changes, peasants often exhibited political characteristics such as being "vacillating, capricious, and hesitant." In short, within the classical Marxist structure of class discourse, although the peasantry was included in the vision of the revolutionary alliance, it was not established as a subject possessing independent historical agency.
On the basis of inheriting the Marxist method of class analysis and proceeding from the concrete reality of the Chinese revolution, Mao Zedong elevated the historical status of the Chinese peasantry as a subject. In the practice of the Chinese revolution, the peasantry was not only regarded as an important allied force but was confirmed as one of the primary forces of the revolution. In this process, class discourse was gradually transformed into a political discourse centered on the category of "the people," allowing Marxist class discourse to acquire new forms of theoretical expression and practical deployment.
Mao Zedong applied and developed Marxism within the unique context of China. Context is the specific historical condition and social environment in which discourse is generated and operates; the formation and expression of any discourse are inseparable from the social structure and field of practice in which it is situated. Engels pointed out that the application of Marxism "must take into account the institutions, customs, and traditions of various countries," and Mao Zedong also emphasized that the CPC must "learn how to apply Marxist-Leninist theory to the specific environment of China." These statements all point toward an important methodological principle: Marxist discourse can only become a real revolutionary force if it is embedded in the historical context of a specific nation and society and transformed through concrete practice. Marxist class discourse provided ideological guidance for the Chinese revolution, but classical Marxist class discourse emerged from the historical conditions of European capitalist society and its workers' movements, and thus could not presuppose the specific realities of different countries. Therefore, Mao Zedong had to "honestly begin to study the actual class struggle." In his investigation of China's social structure, Mao Zedong discovered that China under semi-colonial and semi-feudal conditions presented a class landscape significantly different from that of European capitalist society. On the one hand, although the proletariat possessed strong revolutionary character and was gradually becoming the leading force of the revolutionary movement, its numbers were limited. On the other hand, the national bourgeoisie possessed a certain degree of revolutionary character in the anti-imperialist and anti-feudal struggle, while simultaneously exhibiting obvious vacillation. The peasantry, which accounted for the vast majority of the population, had accumulated profound resentment and a spirit of resistance under long-term class oppression and economic exploitation. It was within this specific context that Mao Zedong re-recognized and evaluated the status of the peasantry in the revolution, repeatedly emphasizing the fundamental role of the peasantry in China's democratic revolution, noting: "If you forget the peasants, there will be no Chinese democratic revolution... do not forget the two words 'peasant'; if you forget these two words, then reading a million volumes of Marxist books is of no use, because you will have no strength." Based on a systematic analysis of the status of various classes in Chinese society, Mao Zedong established the peasantry as one of the primary forces of the revolution and gradually formed a revolutionary path relying on the countryside and seizing political power through armed struggle, thereby enabling Marxist class discourse to acquire a new theoretical form and practical deployment within the Chinese context.
Mao Zedong reshaped the concept of "the people" within China's specific historical context. The concept of "the people" is regarded as "the product of the great practice of reversing the semi-colonial and semi-feudal conditions of modern China," and is an important category formed gradually in revolutionary practice to represent common political interests and historical goals. Unlike classical Marxism, which primarily defined political subjects within the framework of class structure, Mao Zedong incorporated political stances and the conditions of revolutionary practice into his considerations based on class analysis, causing the concept of "the people" to transcend a singular class semantic. In terms of conceptual expression, Mao Zedong fully considered the reality that "90 percent of the Chinese people have not received a cultural education" and chose to differentiate and explain using the framework of "enemies, ourselves, and friends." In Analysis of the Classes in Chinese Society, he clearly pointed out: "Who are our enemies? Who are our friends? This is a question of the first importance for the revolution." "Ourselves" refers to the revolutionary camp and its leading forces; "friends" refers to social strata that can be united under specific historical conditions; and "enemies" are the objects of revolutionary struggle. Substantively, "ourselves" and "friends" together constitute the basic content of the category of "the people." Because the definition of the scope of "friends" always depends on the principal contradiction [2] and the situation of the struggle in a specific historical stage, the concept of "the people" exhibits distinct historical and dynamic characteristics. Mao Zedong noted: "The concept of 'the people' has different meanings in different countries and in different historical periods in each country." It was precisely on the basis of a concrete analysis of the principal social contradiction that Mao Zedong included social strata that could be allied within the category of "the people." By re-demarcating political stances, he enabled social forces that might otherwise have been scattered to form a united front under common revolutionary goals, thus driving the innovative development from class discourse to people-centered discourse.
By systematically innovating discursive content around the concrete practice of the Chinese revolution, the Chinese Communists, with Comrade Mao Zedong as their chief representative, gradually established a multi-layered discourse system on the people. Generally speaking, this discourse system can be grasped from four levels: the view of history, value orientation, institutional design, and practical path, reflecting the intrinsic unity between theory and practice, and between value goals and means of realization. At the level of the view of history, Mao Zedong proposed that "The people, and the people alone, are the motive force in the making of world history," [3] concretizing the revolutionary subject from an abstract class category into a subject of the people with historical agency, and strengthening the real-world power of this subject through the united front, thereby laying the foundation for the discourse system on the people. At the value level, Mao Zedong established "serving the people wholehearted" as the fundamental purpose of all work of the CPC, making the interests of the people the highest standard for measuring all policies and practical activities, thus constituting the value core of the discourse system. At the institutional level, Mao Zedong proposed the concept of the "people's democratic dictatorship" on the basis of the theory of the dictatorship of the proletariat, transforming revolutionary theory into an institutional expression regarding the nature of state power and political structure, forming a democratic political discourse framework with the people as the subject. At the level of the practical path, Mao Zedong focused on major issues such as how to correctly lead the people and how to handle contradictions among the people, forming a methodology of work centered on the mass line and providing a systematic exposition of the nature and resolution of contradictions among the people, thereby providing a concrete practical deployment for the discourse system on the people. All the aforementioned levels support one another, together constituting the complete form of the transformation from class discourse to people-centered discourse.
II. The Establishment of the People as Subject: Theoretical Expression of the Supporting Force for National Rejuvenation
Achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has been an important historical theme of Chinese social development in modern times and is one of the fundamental problems to which Chinese revolutionary practice has responded. This historical theme constitutes the important practical background and value orientation for the formation of Mao Zedong’s discourse system on the people.
To advance the process of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, one must first clarify the social forces upon which the revolution relies and transform them into a real historical subject. Sun Yat-sen, summarizing the experience of the Xinhai Revolution, [4] proposed that it was necessary to "arouse the masses." However, influenced by his historical conditions and class position, Sun Yat-sen failed to fully mobilize the peasantry who made up the vast majority of the population, failed to complete "a major rural transformation," and exhibited obvious limitations at the levels of organization and mobilization. Based on a systematic analysis of the status of various classes in Chinese society, Mao Zedong clearly defined the subjective forces of the revolution through the construction of people-centered discourse. He used the "people-enemy" discursive analytical framework to perform a political division of social forces, defining the subject's identity while simultaneously establishing a political stance, and integrated and expanded the category of "the people" through the strategy of the united front. On this basis, scattered social strata were transformed into a revolutionary force with common political goals and directions of action, thereby laying a solid subjective foundation for the cause of national rejuvenation.
During the period of the New Democratic Revolution, the CPC shouldered the historical tasks of opposing imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucrat-capitalism. Within this revolutionary context, "the people" were the force of the revolution. Mao Zedong pointed out:
"The deepest roots of the tremendous power of war exist among the masses," emphasizing that the people are the fundamental force determining victory or defeat, and that revolution must rely on the masses and unfold through the form of people's war. Therefore, all revolutionary practice first depends on how the connotation of "the people" is defined and which social forces belong to it. Through the discourse system of the people, Mao Zedong provided a concrete definition of the category of "the people," re-delineating the political identities of different strata in Chinese society. This allowed each stratum to obtain a clear positional orientation within the revolutionary process and provided a theoretical basis for the Communist Party of China (CPC) to identify targets for unity and targets for struggle. In long-term revolutionary practice, Mao Zedong's understanding of the category of "the people" underwent a process of continuous deepening. During his student years, Mao attributed the peril of the nation to the fact that the citizenry's "ideas were too antiquated and morality too degraded," distinguishing "gentlemen" (jūnzǐ) from "base men" (xiǎorén) based on moral standards, placing his hopes on the former to save the latter [5]. After the May Fourth Movement [6], Mao referred to the laboring classes at the bottom of society as the "masses" (mínzhòng), realizing that "the strength of the united masses is greatest," and emphasizing the achievement of national liberation through broad alliance. After becoming a Marxist, Mao recognized that the proletariat was the leading force of the revolutionary movement. During the Period of the Great Revolution [7], as the workers' movement suffered repeated setbacks, Mao gradually realized that the revolution could not rely solely on the strength of the proletariat itself, but must "unite our real friends in order to attack our real enemies." Based on a systematic analysis of the numerical scale and revolutionary characteristics of the Chinese peasantry, he put forward the important thesis that the peasantry was the broadest and most loyal ally of the working class, clarifying the primary force upon which the Chinese revolution relied. During the Land Revolutionary War period [8], to consolidate Red political power, Mao further analyzed the class composition of the revolutionary driving forces, noting: "The driving forces of the revolution basically remain the workers, the peasants, and the urban petty bourgeoisie, and now a national bourgeoisie may be added." This judgment indicated that under the new pattern of class relations, the composition of revolutionary forces possessed characteristics of stage-specific and strategic adjustment. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression [9], the Chinese nation faced a grim test of life and death. Based on the historical condition that national contradictions had risen to become the primary contradiction, Mao advocated for the establishment of the broadest national revolutionary united front to mobilize all forces across the country that could be mobilized to jointly resist foreign aggression. In this context, the category of "the people" was expanded to include all classes, strata, and social groups participating in the resistance against Japan, reflecting the breadth and inclusiveness of the united front policy. During the War of Liberation [10], "the people" were clearly defined as "the working class, the peasantry, the urban petty bourgeoisie, and the national bourgeoisie." Under the leadership of the CPC, these class forces completed the historical task of overthrowing "US imperialism and its running dogs, namely the bureaucrat-bourgeoisie, the landlord class, and the Kuomintang reactionaries who represented these classes." It is thus evident that the connotation of the concept of "the people" was continuously adjusted in accordance with changes in the stages of the revolution, and its class composition always revolved around the central tasks of the revolution.
During the period of socialist revolution and construction, the main task facing the CPC was to realize the transition from New Democracy to socialism, complete the socialist revolution, and advance socialist construction, thereby laying the institutional and material foundations for the establishment of the socialist system and national industrialization. In this period, the practical modalities of the revolution underwent profound changes compared to the period of the New Democratic Revolution.
"The large-scale, turbulent class struggles of the masses have basically ended," and "the purpose of the socialist revolution is to liberate the productive forces." The focus of the socialist revolution gradually shifted toward the transformation of the relations of production and the development of the productive forces. This meant that economic construction replaced revolutionary war as the central task; the revolutionary context was gradually transformed into a construction context, and the people changed from subjects of revolutionary mobilization to the subjective force of socialist construction. Mao Zedong pointed out: "During the period of building socialism, all classes, strata, and social groups which favor, support, and work for the cause of socialist construction come within the category of the people." Compared with previous definitions, which were mainly based on the division of the targets of the revolution, the category of "the people" further expanded at this time. In theoretical and practical discourse, the concepts of "the people" and "the masses" became more closely integrated, emphasizing their subjective status in socialist construction. To serve the cause of socialist construction, our Party had to correctly handle contradictions among the people and fully mobilize all positive factors to carry out economic construction. Mao Zedong emphasized the agency of the masses in economic construction, noting: "The masses of the people have boundless creative power. They can organize themselves and concentrate on all places and branches of work where they can give full play to their energy; they can concentrate on production in breadth and depth and create more and more undertakings for their own well-being." At the same time, he emphasized that economic construction highly relies on harnessing the power of the masses, for "without the help of the masses, there is no strength." This indicates that socialist construction is not only the result of institutional arrangements but is, moreover, a process of active participation and practical creation by the broad masses of the people. Therefore, it is essential to guarantee the actual interests of the masses and formulate policies that conform to their interests and realistic needs to enhance their enthusiasm and creativity in participating in construction. By systematically elucidating the historical position and decisive role of the masses in socialist construction, Mao Zedong established the theoretical judgment that the masses are the subjective force driving economic development, providing a deep mass foundation and source of strength for the cause of socialist construction.
III. The People’s Standpoint and the Nature of the Vanguard: The Discursive Construction of the CPC’s Political Advantages
A discourse system is a theoretical system for the construction of meaning and the expression of values; its basic function lies in clarifying political standpoints, defining value orientations, and forming social identity. By systematically constructing a political discourse centered on "the people," Mao Zedong explained the nature, political standpoint, and value goals of the CPC. Through the definition and application of the concept of "the people," Mao clarified the political attribute of the CPC as taking the fundamental interests of the broadest masses as its standpoint, emphasizing that all theoretical and practical activities of the Party must take the people as their starting point and ultimate goal. Compared with bourgeois political parties, the CPC represents the fundamental interests of the broadest masses, forming a distinct tradition of the people's standpoint and the mass line. On this basis, the discourse of "the people" has not only become an important carrier for consolidating political consensus but also constitutes an important theoretical marker distinguishing the CPC from other political parties. It established the source of the Party's political legitimacy and shaped its political image as maintaining "flesh-and-blood ties" with the masses, thereby manifesting the CPC's unique political advantages in terms of value standpoint, organizational principles, and practical orientation.
Through the discourse system centered on "the people," Mao Zedong systematically clarified the nature of the CPC as a political party. The nature of a party determines its fundamental attributes and direction of development, and prescribes the logic of action and value orientation of its political practice. Bourgeois parties are essentially political organizations representing the interests of the bourgeoisie, usually taking the acquisition and maintenance of ruling status as their primary goal, with their members mostly composed of the upper social strata or political elites. Driven by mechanisms of interest-based maneuvering, such parties often engage in fierce competition over the distribution of power, finding it difficult to transcend the limitations of group interests, which in turn restricts their ability to achieve the overall well-being of society. Marxist class analysis revealed the class attributes and historical limitations of capitalist parties and elucidated the advanced nature and historical mission of proletarian parties. The Manifesto of the Communist Party pointed out that Communists are the most advanced and resolute section of the working class, having no interests separate from those of the proletariat as a whole, but "always representing the interests of the movement as a whole." Building on this, Lenin founded the theory of the vanguard party, emphasizing that "the Party is the advanced detachment of the class, its leader and organizer, and the representative of the whole movement and its fundamental and primary goals," further clarifying the advanced nature of the proletarian party. On this basis, Mao Zedong combined Marxist proletarian party theory with China’s concrete realities and proposed the important proposition of the "two vanguards." In a 1937 speech at the Shaanbei Public School in Yan'an commemorating the anniversary of Lu Xun's death, Mao used the concept of the "vanguard" to explain the nature of the CPC: "Our Communist Party is the vanguard of the proletariat, and at the same time the most thorough vanguard of national liberation." This thesis not only expanded the connotation of the theory of the proletarian vanguard but also, under the historical conditions of national liberation, endowed the CPC with a broader historical mission, constituting an early expression of what would later become the "two vanguards" theory. The Seventh National Congress of the CPC [11] further defined the nature of the Party in full from the dimensions of organizational attributes and representativeness: "The Communist Party of China is the organized, advanced detachment of the Chinese working class, the highest form of its class organization. The Communist Party of China represents the interests of the Chinese nation and the Chinese people." Through the systematic expression of the discourse of the people, Mao Zedong organically combined the Party's vanguard nature with the people's standpoint, emphasizing both its class advancement and its political character in representing the interests of the broadest masses. As summarized later, "The Communist Party of China has always represented the fundamental interests of the broadest masses, sharing the same fate and breathing the same air as the people. It does not have any special interests of its own, and never represents the interests of any interest group, any power bloc, or any privileged stratum."
Through the discourse system centered on "the people," Mao Zedong systematically clarified the people's standpoint that runs throughout the CPC’s history. "Standpoint is the footing from which people observe, understand, and handle problems." The political standpoint of a party determines its value orientation and practical direction; different parties carry out political activities based on different standpoints, thereby forming their own unique political forms and operational logics. Bourgeois parties take individualism and the priority of interests as their value foundation, emphasizing individual rights and the expression of group interests, and utilizing competitive interest-based maneuvering as their basic mode of operation. Under this political logic, parties and the interest groups upon which they rely check and balance one another; the political process presents a high degree of antagonism and easily falls into structural competition or even excessive maneuvering. In contrast, the CPC since its founding has established a political standpoint taking the interests of the broadest masses as its fundamental orientation. Mao Zedong repeatedly emphasized that the CPC "stands on the side of the proletariat and the masses of the people," which constitutes a salient marker distinguishing our Party from other political parties. By constructing a discourse system of the people, Mao deeply embedded the people's standpoint into the institutional forms and work styles of the CPC, shaping the Party's fundamental political way of thinking. In terms of institutional form, Mao used the people's standpoint to indicate the direction of the CPC's political practice and established the basic socialist system. Mao combined the Marxist theory of the dictatorship of the proletariat with the concrete reality of the Chinese revolution, creatively proposing the concept of "the people's democratic dictatorship," and defining it as "the people's democratic dictatorship led by the working class (through the Communist Party) and based on the alliance of workers and peasants." Mao explicitly demanded that "governments at all levels must add the word 'people,' and all organs of political power must add the word 'people.'" By reinforcing the subjective status of the people through institutional naming and political expression, he gradually established and perfected institutional systems such as the system of people's congresses, the system of CPC-led multi-party cooperation and political consultation, and the system of regional ethnic autonomy, reflecting the fundamental orientation of the people's standpoint from an institutional level. In terms of work style, Mao proposed and systematically expounded upon the fine tradition of "maintaining close ties with the masses," establishing it as the Party's fundamental working method. He emphasized that "all correct tasks, policies, and work styles are those that suit the requirements of the masses of the time and place and are linked with the masses," summarizing this understanding as the fundamental political and working line of "from the masses, to the masses." Thus, the people's standpoint is reflected not only in institutional arrangements but also in concrete practical modes and working methods. On this theoretical basis, the New Era further clearly proposed: "The people's standpoint is the fundamental political standpoint of the Communist Party of China." In the process of advancing the realization of Chinese-path modernization, we must "always adhere to the people's standpoint, persist in the subjective status of the people, humbly learn from the people, listen to the voice of the people, and draw upon the wisdom of the people." This is both an inheritance of Mao Zedong's discourse system of the people and its deepening and development under new historical conditions.
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With the discourse system centered on the "people," Mao Zedong elucidated the fundamental purpose of the Communist Party of China (CPC)—to serve the people whole-heartedly—noting: "The question of 'for whom' is a fundamental question, a question of principle." Under the operational logic of the politics of interest, bourgeois political parties often frame "particular interests" as "universal interests"; their political practice objectively serves the interest demands of a minority group in society, exhibiting a value orientation of "seeking benefits for the few." In sharp contrast, the people-centered discourse system constructed by Mao Zedong consistently takes the fundamental interests of the broadest masses of the people as its core, establishing "serving the people" as the fundamental value orientation of the CPC. Although the CPC had long practiced the purpose of serving the people in its revolutionary practice, from the perspective of discursive formation and theoretical expression, the explicit phrase "serving the people" first appeared in a 1939 correspondence between Mao Zedong and Zhang Wentian [12]. In 1944, in the article Serve the People, Mao Zedong provided the first systematic exposition of this proposition: "Our Communist Party and the Eighth Route and New Fourth Armies led by our Party are battalions of the revolution. These battalions of ours are wholly dedicated to the liberation of the people and work entirely in the people's interests." This discourse elevated serving the people to the fundamental nature and purpose of the Party and the army. Thereafter, Mao Zedong emphasized "serving the people" on multiple occasions. In a speech at the auditorium of the Central Printing House in Qingliangshan, he first proposed "serving the people whole-heartedly." In 1945, in the opening address and political report of the Party’s Seventh National Congress, Mao officially proposed and systematically discussed this concept: "To serve the people whole-heartedly and never for a moment divorce ourselves from the masses; to proceed in all cases from the interests of the people and not from one's self-interest or from the interests of a small group; and to identify our responsibility to the people with our responsibility to the leading organs of the Party—these are our starting points." The Seventh National Congress wrote "serving the people" into the Party Constitution, explicitly establishing "serving the people whole-heartedly" as the Party's fundamental purpose, thereby achieving the transformation from a practical principle to an institutional norm. The discursive deepening from "serving the people" to "serving the people whole-heartedly" not only reflects an intensification of semantic degree but, more importantly, marks the ascent of this purpose from a general value advocacy to a political principle with organizational binding force. In 1957, Mao Zedong criticized the phenomenon where some cadres had "less of the spirit of serving the people whole-heartedly," emphasizing that the Communist Party "must serve the people heart and soul, not half-heartedly or with two-thirds of one's heart or two-thirds of one's intent," reiterating the practical requirements of this purpose. Building upon Mao Zedong’s people-centered discourse system, the New Era further emphasizes the Party's fundamental purpose. Xi Jinping has pointed out: "We must adhere to the fundamental purpose of serving the people whole-heartedly, seeking benefits for the people, fulfilling responsibilities for the people, and taking charge for the people, taking the people's aspirations for a better life as our unswerving goal, and always maintaining the flesh-and-blood ties between the Party and the people." This is both an inheritance of Mao Zedong’s people-centered discourse system and a deepening and development of its value connotations under new historical conditions.
IV. Discursive Extension: The Origins and Development of the Discourse System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics
The discourse system of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the form of discursive expression and carrier of communication formed by the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics under specific historical conditions; it is a systematic linguistic construction of the path, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Constructing this discourse system is an inherent requirement for telling China’s story well, making China’s voice heard, and enhancing international discourse power.
From the perspective of historical origins, the people-centered discourse system constructed by Mao Zedong can be regarded as an important intellectual source and value foundation for the discourse system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. As a mode of discursive construction with a clear stance and practical orientation, Mao Zedong’s people-centered discourse system provided foundational resources for the discourse system of socialism with Chinese characteristics in terms of ideological stance, value orientation, and construction pathways.
Mao Zedong’s people-centered discourse system laid the distinctively "people-oriented" foundation for the discourse system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Marx and Engels noted: "Language, like consciousness, only arises from the need, the necessity, of intercourse with other men... Language is as old as consciousness, language is practical consciousness that exists also for other men, and for that reason alone it really exists for me personally as well." Bakhtin pointed out: "Discourse is always filled with ideological or living content and meaning." These assertions reveal the intrinsic link between discourse and ideology. As a socialist ideology guided by Marxism, it profoundly reflects the fundamental interests of the broadest masses of the people and is expressed and disseminated through a specific discourse system. Under this theoretical logic, the people-centered discourse system constructed by Mao Zedong runs through the entire process of the formation and development of the discourse system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, shaping the basic categories for expressing the Party's principles and policies, and laying a solid ideological foundation for it. The people-centered value orientation has become its most prominent feature. Under the profound influence of Mao Zedong’s people-centered discourse system, the Party’s theoretical innovations since the reform and opening-up period have continuously enriched and developed the "people's stance." Under new historical conditions, Deng Xiaoping insisted on taking the people's interests as the starting point and goal of all work, using "whether the people support it, whether they agree with it, whether they are happy with it, and whether they allow it" as the criteria for measuring all work, and proposed the important proposition of the "Three Favorables" [13], further clarifying the fundamental position of the people's interests in practical evaluation. Jiang Zemin emphasized that the Party must always represent the fundamental interests of the broadest masses of the Chinese people, specifying the fundamental principle of "governing for the people." Hu Jintao proposed and emphasized that "power must be used for the people, emotions must be tied to the people, and benefits must be sought for the people," taking the realization of well-rounded human development as an important goal. Xi Jinping has further deepened the understanding of the people's principal status, proposing and systematically explaining the concept of "People First," integrating it into the entire process of governance, and pointing out that the people's aspirations for a better life are the goal of our struggle. Guided by this concept, all the Party's work takes increasing the people's well-being, promoting well-rounded human development, and achieving common prosperity as its starting and ending points, reflecting the consistent continuation and epochal sublimation of the people’s stance within the discourse system of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
The intellectual content contained in Mao Zedong’s people-centered discourse system serves as an important basis for the agenda-setting of the discourse system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Discourse content answers the fundamental question of "what to say" and is a vital component of a discourse system. Mao Zedong’s people-centered discourse system concentrated his theoretical reflections on the people's principal status and value orientation; core propositions therein, such as the people’s central position and whole-hearted service to the people, remain important political theoretical agendas and intellectual resources today. On the basis of inheriting Mao's core concepts and value orientations, successive generations of CPC members have continuously carried out epochal expressions in light of new historical conditions, pushing forward theoretical innovation and gradually forming the discourse system of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
The construction principles and modes of expression of Mao Zedong’s people-centered discourse system provide fundamental guidance for the discourse system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. These answer the question of "how to express," which directly relates to the path of discursive practice. Among these, construction principles fundamentally define the stance and nature of the discourse. In the process of constructing the people-centered discourse system, Mao Zedong always adhered to Marxism as the fundamental guide, employing theoretical methods such as class analysis and contradiction analysis to observe society and analyze problems, and adhering to the principle of "seeking truth from facts" to advance the practice of revolution and construction. Adherence to these basic principles gives the people-centered discourse system a clear value stance and an internal drive for continuous innovation and development. The mode of discursive expression determines whether the discourse can be explained thoroughly and vividly to produce an impact. As some scholars have noted, this "is not a pure question of linguistic form, but actually involves the interpretation and understanding of the discourse's content." Mao Zedong’s popularized mode of expression—explaining profound things in simple terms and making them easy to understand—profoundly influenced the CPC’s approach to discursive construction. Mao emphasized that "speech must be close to the people" and that one must learn language from the masses, because "the vocabulary of the people is very rich, vivid, and lively, reflecting actual life." The principles and methods of Mao's discursive construction provide an important basis for building the discourse system of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era. Building on this, Xi Jinping proposed to "make the past serve the present and foreign things serve China, integrate various resources, and continuously promote innovation in knowledge, theory, and method," emphasizing the use of Marxist stances, viewpoints, and methods to analyze and solve practical problems, answering the questions of China, the world, the people, and the times. At the level of linguistic expression, he is adept at quoting classics and referencing extensively while also focusing on using everyday expressions to make theoretical explanations more vivid and fresh, reflecting both the inheritance and innovation of the people-centered discourse tradition.
Mao Zedong’s people-centered discourse system was formed in the great practice of China's revolution and construction and possesses a sustained influence that spans historical stages. Over the CPC’s century-long journey of struggle, this discourse system has continuously demonstrated new vitality, concentrating the deep-seated "people-centered sentiment" and clear value stance of Chinese Communists. Mao Zedong expressed the Party's political will through this discourse system, forged social consensus, and guided the practice of revolution and construction, highlighting the CPC’s unique political advantages and driving the cause of the Party and the people forward. Entering the New Era, faced with the relative insufficiency of China's discursive capacity within the international discourse landscape, Xi Jinping emphasized: "In interpreting Chinese practice and constructing Chinese theory, we should have the most say," requiring the accelerated construction of a discourse system that embodies Chinese characteristics, Chinese style, and Chinese gravitas. As an important source of the CPC's discourse system, the people-centered discourse system constructed by Mao Zedong provides profound intellectual resources and methodological insights for the construction of the discourse system of socialism with Chinese characteristics.