Resolution of the Central Committee of the
Chinese Communist Party on
Strengthening the Party Spirit

(Passed by the Politburo of the Central Committee of the
Chinese Communist Party on July 1, 1941)

1. The Chinese Communist Party, tempered during twenty years of revolution,
has now become an important and decisive factor in the political life of the whole
country, yet what is before us remains a great and arduous revolutionary cause.
Thus our Party must take a step further to become a Bolshevik party that is consolidated ideologically, politically, and organizationally, and all members of the
Party and all its component parts must unite on the basis of unified intention,
unified action, and unified discipline, to become an organic whole. Without such
a resolute, unified, and centralized party, we shall be unable to cope with the protracted, grueling, and complicated struggle in the course of the revolution or to
accomplish the great historical task we shoulder. Therefore, our major job today
in consolidating the Party is to demand that all members of the Party, particularly
members who are cadres, strengthen their training in Party spirit, subordinate personal interests to the interests of the whole Party, and subordinate the interests of
an individual Party organization to those of the Party as a whole, so that the entire
Party may be united as one single person.
2. Even though our Party has a history of twenty years of valiant struggle and is
already a bolshevized party with close ties to the broad masses of people, the
following must be pointed out: our environment is that of the vast countryside, that
of guerrilla warfare which has long been dispersed and where independent actions
have been going on, where small producers and intellectuals make up a large proportion of the Party membership, so that various tendencies which run counter to
the Party spirit may easily arise among certain Party members, tendencies such as
"individualism," "heroism," "a state of disorganization," "assertion of independence," and "anticentralized dispersalism." If allowed to develop, these tendencies
would undermine the Party's unified intention, unified actions, and unified discipline and could develop into the organization of small groups and into factional
struggles, and even go so far as open opposition to the Party, which would bring

Our source for this text is Mao Zedong ji. Bujuan, Vol. 7, pp. 53-56, where it is reproduced
from a documentary collection published in China in 1979.
tremendous damage to the Party and the revolution. And if individuals with these
tendencies fail to correct themselves, they could end up bringing ruin and disgrace
upon their own heads. Traitor Zhang Guotao's end may serve as a clear historical
lesson. These tendencies that demonstrate a lack of Party spirit, although not a
prevalent phenomenon within the Party today, do indeed exist in certain quarters
and among certain comrades. These tendencies mentioned above are concretely
manifested in the following ways:
a. Politically, acting as one pleases, not asking for guidance or opinions from
the Central Committee or higher authorities, not respecting the decisions of the
Central Committee or higher authorities, speaking carelessly, coming up with something new in order to be different, substituting personal feelings or views for policy,
making arbitrary decisions and taking peremptory actions, or inventing excuses to
evade responsibilities, having a two-faced attitude, complying on the surface while
opposing in private, and concealing things from the Party.
b. Organizationally, becoming one's own system and one's own situation, emphasizing independent action, opposing centralized leadership, practicing departmental selfishness, not allowing people to be transferred out [of one's department],
ignoring the interests of the organization and thinking only of one's personal interests; practicing paternalistic rule, demanding only that subordinates observe
discipline but disregarding it oneself; resisting the Center, showing disrespect for
higher authorities, solving problems by going over the heads of immediate superior leadership organs; allowing oneself to disobey resolutions adopted by the
majority, attacking others and touting oneself; totally disregarding matters of principle on policy toward cadres, making promotions or demotions at will, trying to
win support through sentimental ties, covering up one another's misdeeds, secretly ganging up, and engaging in factional activities.
c. Ideologically, it is developing petty-bourgeois individualism to make use of
it against proletarian collectivism, taking the individual as the starting point in all
things, showing off the individual in all things, putting personal interests above all
else, being conceited and arrogant, having an unduly high opinion of oneself, pushing oneself forward at every chance, seeking personal status, taking pleasure in
flattery, talking big and exaggerating, hogging the limelight; failing to understand
specific situations in a truthful way, failing to handle problems in a serious and
prudent manner; being extravagant to make a good show on the surface but refusing to dig in for the hard work; failure to build truly close ties with the masses.
3. To rectify the above-mentioned tendencies that run counter to the Party spirit,
the following measures must be taken:
a. Within the Party, more emphasis should be placed on the unity of the entire
Party, on the centralized nature of the Party, and on the importance of following
the leadership of the Center. It is forbidden for any Party member or any local
Party organization to exhibit the behavior of coming up with something new in
order to be different, becoming one's own system, or making proposals at will to
the outside world on national issues. Demand that those in the leadership in the


various independent working districts pay special attention to the fact that it is
more necessary today than at any other time to trust and obey the Center's leadership. Within the Party a struggle should be waged against "dispersalism," "assertion of independence," and "individualism."
b. Examination of the carrying out of all resolutions and decisions should be
stricter, and the two-faced behavior of complying on the surface while opposing in
private is to be eradicated with firm resolve.
c. Only by discovering and rectifying errors in a timely fashion and not allowing them to develop further can cadres be saved and harm to the work be prevented. Oppose the practice of being polite to the person's face and making charges
behind his back. All criticism should be made in a positive, frank, and sincere
manner, the purpose being salvation and not an attack. Within the Party unity and
mutual assistance should be stressed, along with concern for cadres and helping
them make progress politically. But as for those who fail to mend their ways after
repeated warnings, timely prevention must be exercised as well as disciplinary
sanctions.
d. Education about observing discipline should be strengthened throughout the
Party, because a unified standard of discipline is a necessary condition for victory
of the revolution. These basic principles must be followed strictly: submission of
the individual to the organization, submission of the minority to the majority, submission of lower levels to higher levels, and submission of the whole Party to the
Center. This must apply to everyone, ordinary Party members and cadre Party
members alike.
e. We should transform ourselves with the weapon of self-criticism and through
the method of conscientious study so as to fit ourselves to the needs of the Party
and the revolution. Every Party member, every responsible leading cadre in particular, should be expected to reflect on his weaknesses thoroughly, and regard the
Party's interests as of highest priority. No one should be guilty of a conceited and
self-satisfied or a selfish attitude. The style to be promoted is one of selflessness,
faithful loyalty and simple living, being willing to work hard, being down to earth,
practical, and realistic, and guarding against arrogance and shallowness. The tendencies to divorce completely theory from practice and study from work should be
corrected, so as to resolve more firmly our class stand, our Party stand, and our
Party spirit.
f. Finally, it has been decided that all responsible leaders, from members of the
Central Committee to heads of Party departments, must be organizationally affiliated with a Party branch, participate to a degree in Party organizational life, humbly listen to criticisms from rank-and-file Party members, and strengthen their
own training in Party spirit.