Original title: The Great Spirit of Party Building: The Spiritual Source of the Communist Party of China (In-depth Study and Implementation of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Originality, Conceptuality, and Symbolic Concepts)

In the important exposition on inheriting and carrying forward the great spirit of the party, General Secretary Xi Jinping put forward a series of original concepts and identification concepts. The "great spirit of party building" is in an extremely important position among them. In 2021, at the special historical juncture of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping officially put forward the great spirit of party building and summarized its profound connotation in his important speech on July 1st. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that "a hundred years ago, the pioneers of the Communist Party of China founded the Communist Party of China, forming the great party-building spirit of adhering to the truth, adhering to ideals, practicing the original intention, undertaking the mission, not being afraid of sacrifice, fighting bravely, being loyal to the party, and living up to the people, which is the source of the spirit of the Communist Party of China", and put forward the important requirement of "always inheriting and carrying forward the great spirit of party building". The Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held in November of the same year further discussed this important new understanding of the Party in the form of the Party's historical resolution, and established the great spirit of party building as the source of the spiritual genealogy of the Chinese Communists. The source is the origin, the beginning, and the cause. To deepen the understanding of the original concept and the iconic concept of "great party building spirit", it is necessary to work the fundamental issue of "spiritual source".

An in-depth understanding of the party's own spiritual essence

The connotation of the great spirit of party building was formed in the founding process of the Communist Party of China more than 100 years ago, and has continued to be carried forward in the history of our party's unremitting struggle for more than 100 years. The process of founding the Communist Party of China is the process of combining Marxism-Leninism with the Chinese labor movement, and it is also the process of forming the great spirit of party building. The noble spiritual demeanor shown by the pioneers of the Communist Party of China in the process of party building and the long-term revolutionary struggle, such as Comrade Li Dazhao's "courageous forge ahead", "cut off the head and shed blood to follow it", and "work hard to achieve it" for the Marxist belief, Comrade Mao Zedong's far-sighted political vision, unswerving revolutionary belief, extraordinary courage to pioneer, perfect struggle art, outstanding and superb leadership skills, innocent feelings for the people, and open-mindedness and broad mind. Comrade Zhou Enlai regarded himself as the "chief waiter" of the people, bowing and doing his best, and after death, all of which were nurtured, formed, concentrated and vividly embodied the great spirit of party building. They are the personality embodiment of the great spirit of party building.

The formation of any scientific concept is closely linked to historical practice and the revelation of the essence of things. The proposal of the great spirit of party building is the inevitable result of our party's continuous deepening of its own spiritual understanding on the basis of a hundred years of historical accumulation. General Secretary Xi Jinping has made unique and outstanding contributions to it.

Our party has always cherished its own precious spirit and defined its own spirit with the "revolutionary spirit". During the period of the new democratic revolution, Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out: "This army has an indomitable spirit, it must overwhelm all enemies and never be subdued by the enemy." No matter in any difficult and difficult situation, as long as there is one more person, this person will continue to fight" "Make up your mind, not afraid of sacrifice, overcome all difficulties, and strive for victory". These all reflect the fundamental requirements of this revolutionary spirit. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, in response to the decline of the revolutionary will of some party members and cadres, Comrade Mao Zedong solemnly demanded: "We must maintain the same vigor, such revolutionary enthusiasm, and such a desperate spirit as during the past revolutionary war, and do the revolutionary work to the end." In the new period of reform and opening up and socialist modernization, Comrade Deng Xiaoping demanded that all party comrades devote themselves to the great cause of reform and opening up with a firm revolutionary spirit and vigorous fighting spirit, just like they did during the revolutionary war years. Comrade Deng Xiaoping summed up the party's revolutionary spirit as "five revolutionary spirits" and pointed out: "In the long-term revolutionary war, under the guidance of the correct political direction, we proceeded from the analysis of the actual situation, carried forward the spirit of revolution and desperation, strictly observed discipline and the spirit of self-sacrifice, the spirit of selflessness and putting others before ourselves, the spirit of overpowering all enemies and difficulties, and the spirit of adhering to revolutionary optimism and overcoming all difficulties to strive for victory, and achieved great victories. ”

General Secretary Xi Jinping is the main representative of the party's own spirit. As early as June 2005, Comrade Xi Jinping, then secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee, pointed out in the important article "Carrying forward the "Red Boat Spirit" and walking in the forefront of the times" that "the 'Red Boat Spirit' is the source of the Chinese revolutionary spirit: the fine traditions and revolutionary spirit formed in the history of the Communist Party of China are all directly related to it", and made a preliminary exploration of the "source of the party's spirit"; In March 2007, Comrade Xi Jinping's first public appearance after serving as secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee was to lead members of the relevant leading bodies of Shanghai to visit the sites of the First and Second Congresses of the Communist Party of China, with the purpose of receiving revolutionary traditional education, reliving the glorious history of the Party, remembering the Party's great achievements, learning from the noble spirit of the revolutionary ancestors, further stimulating the pride and fighting spirit of unremitting struggle for the cause of the Party and the people, and building Shanghai better; In 2016, on the occasion of the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping further put forward the important requirements of "maintaining the fighting spirit of the Chinese Communists at the time of the founding of the Party" and "not forgetting the original intention". On the basis of in-depth thinking, in his important speech at the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China in 2021, General Secretary Xi Jinping solemnly put forward the great spirit of party building and summarized its profound connotation, pointing out that "the great spirit of party building is the source of the spirit of the Communist Party of China." This important exposition stands at the new historical height of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China and deeply analyzes the "meta-problem" of the party's great spirit, and deeply understands the original spirit of the party from the whole process of the pioneers' founding rather than specific time and space, which has a high degree of generalization and historical depth.

General Secretary Xi Jinping's definition of the connotation of the great spirit of party building is not only a profound revelation of the historical connotation of the spirit of struggle when the party was founded, but also a profound revelation of the common essence of the great spirit and accumulated spiritual wealth cultivated by the party over the past 100 years. The "source of the party's spirit" is the source, source and source of the generation and existence of the party's great spirit and other spiritual wealth, and the source of the party's great spirit and other spiritual wealth. The proposal of the great spirit of party building and other related concepts is a fundamental sign that the party has reached a new level of spiritual understanding of itself, enriched and developed the theoretical treasure house of Marxist party building, and opened up a new vision for understanding the history of the Communist Party of China.

"Adhering to the truth and adhering to ideals" marks the firm belief in Marxism and the lofty ideals of communism that the Communist Party of China has had since its birth, which is the political soul of the Chinese Communists and the spiritual pillar of the Chinese Communists to withstand various tests; "Practicing the original intention and taking on the mission" marks the original intention of the Communist Party of China since its birth to be loyal to the people's happiness, as well as the firm spiritual pursuit of taking on the historical mission of seeking rejuvenation for the nation; "Not afraid of sacrifice and heroic struggle" marks the powerful spiritual power of "daring to fight and dare to win" that the Communist Party of China has had since its birth, and demonstrates that daring to fight is the innate political gene of our party and the distinctive character tempered for more than 100 years; "Loyalty to the party and live up to the people" marks the noble spiritual quality of the founding of the Communist Party of China, its members have been unconditionally loyal to the party's beliefs, loyalty to the party organization, loyal to the party's theories, lines, principles and policies, and have always adhered to the fundamental purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly. From the moment of its establishment, such an advanced political party with a solid spiritual pillar, strong spiritual pursuit, strong spiritual strength and noble spiritual qualities will inevitably radiate a strong historical initiative spirit to transform the world, lead the people to make unremitting efforts and move forward bravely, and continuously push the great cause of building a strong country and national rejuvenation to a new height.

The party's theory develops in persistence, and the party's spirit is carried forward in adherence. Under different historical conditions, the great spirit of party building has been endowed with different connotations and requirements of the times. In the face of the new era, new journey, new situation and tasks, and to carry forward the great spirit of party building, we must firmly establish confidence and belief in Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, unremittingly use the latest achievements of the party's innovative theory to forge the soul, and constantly consolidate the common ideological foundation of the unity and struggle of the whole party and the people of all ethnic groups in the country; we must adhere to the people-centered development thinking, highlight the people's nature of our country's socialist modernization, and comprehensively promote the construction of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation with Chinese-style modernization; we must dare to fight, be good at fighting, and open up a new world of cause development through tenacious struggle; We must adhere to the party's overall leadership, firmly safeguard the authority of the Party Central Committee and centralized and unified leadership, and more consciously maintain a high degree of consistency with the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core in ideology, politics and action.

A clear positioning of the source of the spiritual genealogy of the Chinese Communists

To understand the status of the "spiritual source" of the great spirit of party building, we must examine it in the spiritual genealogy of the Chinese Communists.

The "spiritual genealogy of the Chinese Communists" is another important original concept and identification concept for the party to deeply understand its own spirit, and its proposal also has a process. With the accumulation of the party's spiritual wealth, how to integrate many great spirits of the party, connect them into an organic whole with the history of the party as an order, has become a very important issue. "The genealogy is the history of the family, and the history is the genealogy of the country." The spiritual genealogy of the Chinese Communists is the historical record of the inheritance and promotion of the great spirit of the party. After using the concept of "spiritual genealogy" in October 2016, General Secretary Xi Jinping officially proposed the concept of "spiritual genealogy of the Chinese Communists" in February 2021 and summarized the basic content of this spiritual genealogy.

"The canal is so clear, so that there is a source of living water." In a certain sense, the construction of the spiritual genealogy of the Chinese Communists is the result of the promotion of the great spirit of party building. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The Communist Party of China carries forward the great spirit of party building and builds the spiritual genealogy of the Chinese Communists in the long-term struggle." The third historical resolution of the Party called the great spirit of party building the "source" of the spiritual genealogy, and the report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China further stated that it was "the spiritual genealogy of the Chinese Communists with the great spirit of party building as the source". With the approval of the Party Central Committee, the first batch of 46 great party spirits compiled by the Central Propaganda Department into the spiritual genealogy of the Chinese Communists was released at the end of September 2021. In this spiritual genealogy, the great spirit of party building is prominently ranked first, which is the concrete embodiment of the "spiritual source" in the spiritual genealogy.

"Source" determines the texture and direction of "flow", and "flow" shows the vitality of "source"; without "source", there is no "flow", and without "flow", "source" becomes a stagnant water. The spiritual genealogy of the Chinese Communists began with the great spirit of party building, and continued to enrich and develop under different time and space conditions, presenting a prosperous scene with solid branches and deep roots. During the period of the new democratic revolution, the party cultivated and formed great spirits such as the Jinggangshan spirit, the Long March spirit, and the Yan'an spirit, which were characterized by bloody battles and perseverance; during the period of socialist revolution and construction, the party cultivated and formed great spirits such as the spirit of resisting US aggression and aiding Korea, the spirit of "two bombs and one satellite", and the spirit of Lei Feng, which were characterized by self-reliance and indignation; In the new era of reform and opening up and socialist modernization, the party has cultivated and formed the great spirit of reform and opening up, manned spaceflight, and the spirit of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway characterized by emancipating the mind and forging ahead. In the new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the party has cultivated and formed great spirits such as the spirit of poverty alleviation, anti-epidemic, and scientist spirit characterized by self-confidence, self-improvement, integrity and innovation. Facing the future, while the party leading the people to create new brilliant achievements, it will also accumulate more spiritual wealth and continue to write a new chapter in the spiritual genealogy of the Chinese Communists with the great spirit of party building as the source.

The historical process of building the spiritual genealogy of the Chinese Communists with the great spirit of party building as the source reflects the historical process of the Chinese nation from standing up and getting rich to becoming stronger spiritually. The great party-building spirit formed in the process of the founding of the Communist Party of China is not only the source of the spiritual genealogy of the Chinese Communists, but also marks the clear boundary of the Chinese nation's spiritual transformation from passive to active, and the Chinese people began to stand up their spiritual backbone and coalesce into a whole, and the solidified national blood was reawakened, and the "white-headed country" and "white-headed nation" began to fly to the phoenix nirvana of "the country of youth, the nation of youth". The great spirit of the Chinese nation has been continuously stimulated in the construction of the spiritual genealogy of the Chinese Communists. For example, the spirit of the Great War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression marks that "this kind of national awakening and sublimation of the national spirit has reached a new height during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression"; The great spirit of resisting US aggression and aiding Korea reflects the national character of the Chinese nation that is not afraid of violence and resists power, the national strength of all people and working together, the national blood of sacrificing life and forgetting death, and the national wisdom of keeping upright, innovating, and moving forward bravely; The great spirit of reform and opening up has "greatly enriched the connotation of the national spirit"; The great spirit of poverty alleviation "continues to inherit the great national spirit and the spirit of the times". Without understanding the promotion of the great spirit of party building and the construction of the spiritual genealogy of the Chinese Communists, it is difficult to grasp the mainstream of the awakening of the modern Chinese nation and the spiritual transition from passive to active, and it is difficult to understand the spiritual motivation of why China has achieved rapid progress and continues to undergo rapid changes.

The historical process of building the spiritual genealogy of the Chinese Communists with the great spirit of party building as the source is also a historical process of continuing the party's red genes and "sequencing" and verifying the party's red genes. As the source of the party's spirit, the great spirit of party building clearly marks the party's red gene. The times are changing, the historical orientation of the party is changing, and the manifestations of the party's great spirit in different times and spaces are also changing, but the red gene and original intention carried by the great spirit of party building will never change and cannot change. Everything goes forward, and we must not forget the road we have traveled; No matter how far you go and how glorious the future is, you can't forget the past you have traveled and why you set out.

One of the main purposes of building the spiritual genealogy of the Chinese Communists is to educate future generations to inherit the red gene and ensure that there are successors to the party's cause. The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China put forward the requirement of "carrying forward the spiritual genealogy of the Chinese Communists with the great spirit of party building as the source", and its fundamental starting point is to focus on cultivating new people of the era who take on the great task of national rejuvenation. Every Communist Party member and even every citizen can find the specific spiritual object he or she promotes in the spiritual genealogy of the Chinese Communists with the great spirit of party founding as the source, and can benchmark against the countless vivid and vivid heroes and models behind this spiritual genealogy. To ensure that the red gene does not change, the fine traditions are not lost, and the spiritual genealogy is not generated, it is necessary to continuously cultivate a large number of excellent inheritors and reliable successors.

A profound revelation of the reasons why the party will always maintain its youthful vitality

Spirit is the fundamental feature of vitality, and the strength of vitality will be expressed through spirit. A strong spirit leads to strong vitality, and a weak spirit leads to weak vitality. The great spirit of party building is the source of the party's spirit and the source of the party's vitality. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The reason why our party has been in its prime after a hundred years and has endured hardships is because of such a strong spirit of revolution and desperation. This is a deep understanding of the fundamental reason for the party's century-old prosperity.

In the course of more than 100 years of struggle, our party has created brilliance and suffered hardships. For example, during the period of the new democratic revolution, the party suffered the failure of the Great Revolution and the fifth anti-"encirclement and suppression" campaign, and the party suffered serious setbacks during the socialist revolution and construction. The fundamental reason for this is that the great historical initiative spirit empowered by the "source of the party's spirit" has been fully exerted in the party. We do not resign ourselves to fate, do not complain about others, do not accept the fatalistic arrangements of any forces and objective conditions, but take the initiative, actively look for ways to crack, maintain the momentum of moving forward bravely, and always take our destiny into our own hands. Without this spirit of historical initiative, it is impossible to win the status of historical initiative.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, in the face of a series of outstanding contradictions and problems that have accumulated for a long time and emerged that need to be solved urgently, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core, with great historical initiative, great political courage and strong responsibility, has worked hard to solve many problems that have been wanted to be solved for a long time but have not been solved, and have accomplished many major events that were wanted to be done in the past but have not been done, and promoted the cause of the party and the country to achieve historic achievements and historic changes. This is the result of the great spirit of party building consciously carried forward in the great changes in the new era. The party's youthful vitality has been continuously demonstrated in historical turning points and overcoming difficulties.

The party clearly erected the banner of the great spirit of party building, and in fact established the benchmark coordinates to measure the vitality of the party at the source of history. The firm determination of our party to "carry forward the great spirit of party building" is the youth oath of this century-old party and a major political declaration for the Chinese Communists facing the new era and new journey. Whether a political party is strong or not cannot be judged simply by its establishment and the length of time it has been in power, but whether it can consistently maintain the fighting spirit of its founding and entrepreneurship. Getting older is not getting old; Losing fighting spirit, he fell into his old age. A party that always adheres to the pursuit of faith, adheres to its original mission, dares to fight and sacrifice, and upholds unity and loyalty will always be full of vitality and invincibility.

Strengthening confidence must face up to the problem. The Communist Party of China has been established for more than 100 years and has been in power for more than 70 years. There are big appearances and big difficulties; There are advantages and problems in the long term. All kinds of tests and dangers for the party will exist for a long time, and the party is facing the unique problem of "six ways to be always". When discussing the unique problems of the big party, General Secretary Xi Jinping listed many situations that may occur within the party, such as "forgetting why to start", "not losing the tail, acting on its own", "inertia of thinking, inertia of behavior", "pursuit of comfort and pleasure but depressed and unenterprising", "ignoring one's own shortcomings and ignoring one's own problems", etc., these negative factors in real life are corruption, "four winds" and other serious problems. This is incompatible with or even contrary to the great spirit of party building. Although these problems only occur to a few people and are tributaries of the party members, if they are allowed to spread, they are bound to pollute the "source of the party's spirit" and the party's mainstream, corrupt the political ecology, and continue to develop. General Secretary Xi Jinping reminded the whole party: "We must be prepared for danger in times of peace, and always be vigilant about whether our century-old party will become old and disease-ridden." ”

To solve the unique problems of the big party, we must promote the party's self-revolution, which is an important embodiment and requirement for carrying forward the great spirit of party building. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "As long as we vigorously carry forward the great spirit of party building, do not forget the original mission, have the courage to revolutionize ourselves, constantly eliminate all harmful factors that damage the party's advanced nature and purity, and constantly eliminate all pathogens that erode the party's healthy body, we will definitely be able to ensure that the party does not deteriorate, change color, or taste." "Yang" and "stop" are two aspects of the same problem. To carry forward the great spirit of party building, we must focus on solving the wrong and negative tendencies pointed to by the unique problems of the big party, and we must stop and overcome all the dark aspects that deviate from the "source of the party's spirit", which can only be solved through the party's self-revolution. It is necessary to resolutely block and remove the source of the party's spirit and the mainstream of the party's sewage flow, take the requirements of the great spirit of party building as an important indicator, always conduct health examinations on the party, find viruses and lesions, and treat and remove them in a timely manner with the courage of the blade inward, and even scrape bones to treat poisons. Only in this way can our party always maintain its own physical health, always be full of vitality and vigor, continuously consolidate the party's long-term ruling position, and lay a more solid foundation for jumping out of the historical cyclical rate of rise and fall of chaos.

(The author is a special researcher at the Beijing Xi Jinping Research Center for Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era)

Taken from: https://www.miit-eidc.org.cn/art/2025/7/1/art_1622_11508.html