Trainees at the China Executive Leadership Academy, Yan’an, attend an “enthusiasm session,” learning Yangge dance to ignite their interest in revolutionary history. Photo: Zhu Shanshan/GT
In August 1946, sitting on a stone taboret outside a cave house in Yan’an, Mao Zedong uttered his famous remark “All reactionaries are paper tigers” for the first time in an interview with American reporter Anna Louise Strong.
His army, inspired by the thought, successfully saw off attacks from the Kuomintang in Yan’an eight months later, despite their adverse situation, laying the ground for the Communists to take power in the country.
Six decades on, reporters from both China and abroad revisited the site in the hope of rediscovering the valuable legacy of the older generation of revolutionaries, which is required to be learned and passed down in one Party-organized academy.
“As a ‘holy land’ in my heart, I have longed for Yan’an since I was young. When I came here as a middle-aged Party member cultivated by our Party, I felt more bonded with Yan’an and I was amazed and moved by the heroic tales of our old revolutionaries,” said Mo Juan, a Party member from Shandong Province, who received training at the China Executive Leadership Academy, Yan’an (CELAY).
Mo’s training in Yan’an was the result of a call for large-scale cadre training made after the Party’s 16th National Congress in 2002. Over the past nine years, 120 million Party members and government officials have taken part in training programs.
They have to accumulate at least three months of full-time study during a five-year tenure, said Chen Yannan, executive vice president of CELAY.
To maintain constant training for its 78 million members as well as many other non-Communist government executives, the CPC has built up a training system with two central level schools in Beijing – the Party School of the CPC Central Committee and the National School of Administration – and three in revolutionary sites in Shanghai, Jinggangshan in Jiangxi Province and Yan’an.
While the two in Beijing specialize in Party spirit and governance capability respectively, the training in Yan’an is more focused on visualizing the history and application of theories, according to Chen.
Economic benefits
The boom in red culture in recent years has brought benefits to the once poor and barren land on the Loess Plateau.
Local GDP increased to over 88.5 billion yuan ($13.7 billion) by the end of 2010, 2.3 times that of 2005, and red culture tourism has become a pillar of the local economy, drawing in 14.5 million tourists last year and bringing $1.17 billion in revenue.
As the city reaps the benefits of China’s economic growth, it is now being tasked with another urgent mission - to fill the apparent moral void currently seen in society.
Founded in 2005, CELAY has cultivated 28,000 Party members, with more than 60 percent of lessons held at revolutionary sites in the city.
“Yan’an is the best location for Party members to learn from the older generation who had the most favorable relationship with the people when they stayed here,” Chen said.
Hearts and minds
“There is an old saying in China that those who win the hearts of the people win the world, and that was the Communists’ key to winning people’s support in Yan’an and then winning the throne,” said Liu Yu, a researcher with the Yan’an Revolution Memorial Hall.
The 68-year-old Party member said that with the power in its hands, the CPC also needs to remember the notion of serving the people all the time, as that is what buoys the Party and its governance.
To encourage students to better carry on the Party’s good traditions, the school prohibits extravagance and waste by capping meal costs at 50 yuan ($7.73) a day and requiring sealed off accommodation at the school’s dormitory.
It also requires students to attend an “enthusiasm session” in which everyone has to learn local revolutionary songs and Yangge dance, a local traditional performance.
“Our passions were ignited by singing those inspiring songs and the Communist ideals rose and burned in my heart,” said Mo, who took part in a 10-day session in Yan’an.
Lü Weidong, a lecturer at CELAY, told the Global Times that the lessons have gained popularity among students, and a second phase of construction is under way.
“About 50 percent of the school’s students were introduced to this place by those who had already completed sessions here,” Lü said.
“Under the leadership of our Party, the country has made great economic progress, but we have lost some of our moral values,” Zhuang Qiansheng, a Party member from Beijing who came to Yan’an for CPC member training, told the Global Times.
However, Chen said he didn’t think that the Party is now facing an ideological vacuum.
But he also admitted that there are some problems existing within the Party, and his school’s function is to “wipe the dust” and constantly consolidate the Party’s belief and values.
“We have a wonderful history. The problem now is how to turn those old virtues into practice and use it as a weapon for our future development,” Chen said.
His army, inspired by the thought, successfully saw off attacks from the Kuomintang in Yan’an eight months later, despite their adverse situation, laying the ground for the Communists to take power in the country.
Six decades on, reporters from both China and abroad revisited the site in the hope of rediscovering the valuable legacy of the older generation of revolutionaries, which is required to be learned and passed down in one Party-organized academy.
“As a ‘holy land’ in my heart, I have longed for Yan’an since I was young. When I came here as a middle-aged Party member cultivated by our Party, I felt more bonded with Yan’an and I was amazed and moved by the heroic tales of our old revolutionaries,” said Mo Juan, a Party member from Shandong Province, who received training at the China Executive Leadership Academy, Yan’an (CELAY).
Mo’s training in Yan’an was the result of a call for large-scale cadre training made after the Party’s 16th National Congress in 2002. Over the past nine years, 120 million Party members and government officials have taken part in training programs.
They have to accumulate at least three months of full-time study during a five-year tenure, said Chen Yannan, executive vice president of CELAY.
To maintain constant training for its 78 million members as well as many other non-Communist government executives, the CPC has built up a training system with two central level schools in Beijing – the Party School of the CPC Central Committee and the National School of Administration – and three in revolutionary sites in Shanghai, Jinggangshan in Jiangxi Province and Yan’an.
While the two in Beijing specialize in Party spirit and governance capability respectively, the training in Yan’an is more focused on visualizing the history and application of theories, according to Chen.
Photo: Zhu Shanshan/GT
Economic benefits
The boom in red culture in recent years has brought benefits to the once poor and barren land on the Loess Plateau.
Local GDP increased to over 88.5 billion yuan ($13.7 billion) by the end of 2010, 2.3 times that of 2005, and red culture tourism has become a pillar of the local economy, drawing in 14.5 million tourists last year and bringing $1.17 billion in revenue.
As the city reaps the benefits of China’s economic growth, it is now being tasked with another urgent mission - to fill the apparent moral void currently seen in society.
Founded in 2005, CELAY has cultivated 28,000 Party members, with more than 60 percent of lessons held at revolutionary sites in the city.
“Yan’an is the best location for Party members to learn from the older generation who had the most favorable relationship with the people when they stayed here,” Chen said.
Hearts and minds
“There is an old saying in China that those who win the hearts of the people win the world, and that was the Communists’ key to winning people’s support in Yan’an and then winning the throne,” said Liu Yu, a researcher with the Yan’an Revolution Memorial Hall.
The 68-year-old Party member said that with the power in its hands, the CPC also needs to remember the notion of serving the people all the time, as that is what buoys the Party and its governance.
To encourage students to better carry on the Party’s good traditions, the school prohibits extravagance and waste by capping meal costs at 50 yuan ($7.73) a day and requiring sealed off accommodation at the school’s dormitory.
It also requires students to attend an “enthusiasm session” in which everyone has to learn local revolutionary songs and Yangge dance, a local traditional performance.
“Our passions were ignited by singing those inspiring songs and the Communist ideals rose and burned in my heart,” said Mo, who took part in a 10-day session in Yan’an.
Lü Weidong, a lecturer at CELAY, told the Global Times that the lessons have gained popularity among students, and a second phase of construction is under way.
“About 50 percent of the school’s students were introduced to this place by those who had already completed sessions here,” Lü said.
“Under the leadership of our Party, the country has made great economic progress, but we have lost some of our moral values,” Zhuang Qiansheng, a Party member from Beijing who came to Yan’an for CPC member training, told the Global Times.
However, Chen said he didn’t think that the Party is now facing an ideological vacuum.
But he also admitted that there are some problems existing within the Party, and his school’s function is to “wipe the dust” and constantly consolidate the Party’s belief and values.
“We have a wonderful history. The problem now is how to turn those old virtues into practice and use it as a weapon for our future development,” Chen said.
Special Coverage: 90th Anniversary of CPC
