Military Cultivation | Preserve Your True Character, Never Forget Your Roots
● Constantly reflect on "who am I, for whom do I serve, and on whom do I rely," and constantly ask "why did I join the Party, why did I become a soldier, why did I become a commander"
For an army to sustain its bloodline and preserve its true character across generations, it requires the broad ranks of officers and soldiers to exercise self-discipline and carry forward its genetic heritage, and even more so requires military leading cadres at all levels to set an example and keep the fundamentals firmly in mind.
Only by not forgetting one's roots can one preserve the true character of a revolutionary soldier and brighten the foundational quality of a Communist Party member. In 1966, Comrade Pi Dingjun went to rural Xiushui County in Jiangxi Province to assist with work there. He went to the fields and returned from them alongside local commune members, ate sweet potato shred rice, and slept on straw bedding. The masses said of him: "He doesn't look like an official—he looks like an old farmer." Most notably, the nose rope he made for cattle by hand was better than those made by people who had herded cattle their whole lives. He said: "I was originally just a little cowherd boy from the Dabie Mountains, who grew up riding cattle in split-crotch trousers. The landlords and wealthy gentry wouldn't let me live—they forced me out to make revolution. Now that I've become an official, I absolutely cannot forget my roots!" In 1981, Comrade Xiao Ke returned to his hometown after more than half a century away. From the moment he arrived, he repeatedly urged that food and lodging be kept simple and all extravagance be eliminated—he asked only for plain food and modest living. Facing his relatives, he earnestly admonished them: "Why must we never forget gourd-and-hemp porridge (瓜麻糊)? Those who grew up eating gourd-and-hemp porridge and then forget it have forgotten their roots." Through actions as plain as the earth itself, the older generation of revolutionaries gave a vivid answer to what constitutes the "roots" of a Communist Party member and how a Party member should go about "not forgetting those roots."
No matter how tall a tree grows, it always has roots; no matter how far a river flows, it always has a source. Military leading cadres, regardless of how high a position they hold or how great a power they wield, must never forget that "I am a soldier, come from among the common people." Comrade Luo Ronghuan held high office yet remained consistently modest and pragmatic. He once told colleagues in the organs: "Don't think you stand so tall—that height comes from the horse you're riding. Dismount, and you're exactly as tall as you were before." In the eyes of the older generation of revolutionaries, not forgetting one's roots is the foundation of a person's conduct, the political clarity of a Communist Party member, and the proper true character of a revolutionary soldier. Only by never forgetting one's original aspiration and preserving one's true character can one maintain constant reverence, constant self-discipline, and constant humility—treading carefully as if on thin ice, being scrupulous even when alone and in small matters—and thereby steady one's mind and hold the line when tested by the temptations of fame and personal gain.
A tree without roots will wither; water without a source will run dry; a person who forgets their roots will come to ruin. Once a person betrays their original aspiration and abandons their fundamental principles, their sense of purpose will inevitably erode, their Party-character cultivation will inevitably weaken, their spiritual home will inevitably fall to ruin, the ideological embankment will consequently become riddled with holes, and ultimately their ideals and convictions will collapse, their value coordinates will shift, and they will slide step by step into the abyss of corruption and depravity. "The myriad things all return to their roots"—to forget the past is to betray it; to discard one's roots foretells one's fall. History's warning bell tolls without cease: from Liu Qingshan and Zhang Zishan in the early years of the People's Republic, to the corrupt elements brought to justice since the Party's Eighteenth National Congress—though the specific forms of their violations of discipline and law differ, without exception they all lost their roots and forgot their origins. Some grew arrogant on the strength of their achievements and trampled on law and discipline; some became morally corrupt and depraved in spirit; some were consumed by insatiable greed and sank into corruption and degeneracy. They cast behind them the political requirements of absolute loyalty, absolute purity, and absolute reliability, and discarded entirely the integrity and moral backbone of a Communist Party member and the true character of a revolutionary soldier. The result was harm to others and to themselves, corruption of the atmosphere, and damage to the cause.
Comrade Chen Yi wrote the following admonition in his poem "Do Not Reach Out Your Hand": "First thought: do not forget your roots—you came from the people, do no evil. Second thought: the Party nurtured you—without the Party, what could you have accomplished? Third thought: clothing, food, and shelter—without the people, how could you survive? Fourth thought: though you have merit, have you no faults for which to feel ashamed?" These four searching questions strike directly at the heart and give one much to reflect upon. They embody a Party member and leading cadre's wholehearted loyalty to the Party and the people, and they earnestly admonish us never to forget who we are, never to forget the Party's grace in educating us and the people's kindness in nurturing us. The facts have repeatedly proven that whatever a person is able to accomplish is inseparable from the cultivation of the Party and the people. No matter how far one travels, one must never forget where one set out from or why one set out.
Countless revolutionary forebears spent their lives on the battlefield and achieved great military distinction, yet always preserved their clean and honest true character and devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the people. This was because they always kept firmly in mind that they were sons of the people, that the power in their hands came from the people, and that one should "see only public servants, not officials." Comrade Peng Dehuai was upright and incorruptible, frugal and plain, and had the deepest contempt for bureaucratism and the mentality of privilege; when he went down to units for investigation and research, he always preferred to sit on the low stools used by ordinary soldiers. Comrade Gan Zuchang did not rest on his laurels and was indifferent to fame and personal gain; he voluntarily took off his general's uniform and put on coarse cloth clothing, working alongside fellow villagers to build reservoirs, dig irrigation channels, terrace fields, and establish schools, and never made any demands of the organization. "Combat hero" Zhang Fuqing kept his achievements and reputation deeply concealed for more than sixty years, upholding his original aspiration and never changing his true character throughout his life, writing a remarkable life story through his simplicity, purity, and indifference to fame and personal gain. The revolutionary forebears showed us through concrete action: the true character of a soldier has never been the enhancement of official rank or the halo of power, but rather the pure and steadfast commitment of never forgetting one's original aspiration and remaining unswerving, the heartfelt devotion of taking root among the people and serving the people, and the sense of responsibility of pressing forward in the face of difficulty and working with diligence and dedication. This unrelenting pursuit of holding fast to one's original heart and preserving one's true character is precisely the most precious spiritual foundation of Communist Party members and revolutionary soldiers.
In his important speech at the opening ceremony of the training course for senior cadres of the entire military, Chairman Xi emphasized: "Senior cadres must take the lead in restoring and carrying forward the fine traditions of our Party and our military, set aside the airs of officialdom, return to the true character of revolutionary soldiers, and allow a new healthy atmosphere and upright spirit to become even more abundant throughout the forces." On the new journey, Party member leading cadres—especially senior cadres—must keep Chairman Xi's earnest teachings firmly in mind, take the revolutionary forebears as a mirror, constantly reflect on "who am I, for whom do I serve, and on whom do I rely," and constantly ask "why did I join the Party, why did I become a soldier, why did I become a commander." They must uphold clean and honest self-discipline and be scrupulous even when alone and in small matters; handle properly the relationships between public and private, righteousness and personal interest, right and wrong, and sentiment and law; overcome all selfish and impure thoughts that distance one from the masses; conduct oneself with integrity and carry out one's duties with clean hands. They must always preserve that revolutionary fervor and that spirit of giving everything—being visible in ordinary times, stepping forward at critical moments, and throwing themselves in without reservation at moments of crisis—so as to continuously advance the cause opened up by their forebears and let the true character of the revolutionary soldier shine with brilliance.