Political Work

Bayi Sharp Commentary | Don't Sit in the 'High-Backed Chair'—Be Willing to Sit on the 'Low Stool'

八一锐评丨不坐“靠背椅” 甘坐“矮板凳”

PLA Daily (解放军报) 11 May 2026

Summary

A Bayi commentary published in response to Xi Jinping's directive at a senior cadre training course calls on PLA leading officers to abandon bureaucratic distance, engage directly with enlisted personnel and junior officers at the grassroots level, and embody the Party's mass line. The piece signals an ongoing campaign to address perceived detachment and elitism among senior PLA officers—a recurrent friction point in PLA political work—and reflects Xi's continued use of ideological and behavioral rectification as a tool for consolidating command authority and unit cohesion ahead of operational demands.

Translation

Chairman Xi, at the opening ceremony of the training course for senior cadres of the entire military, emphasized: 'Senior cadres must take the lead in restoring and carrying forward the fine traditions of our Party and our military, set aside official airs, return to the true character of revolutionary soldiers, and allow a new healthy atmosphere (新风正气) to become more prevalent throughout the forces.' To implement the spirit of this important directive, military leading cadres must firmly establish a correct view of the masses (群众观), set aside their airs, go deep into the grassroots, refuse to sit in the 'high-backed chair,' and be willing to sit on the 'low stool'—earning trust and authority by integrating themselves among officers and soldiers.

The first of the three great principles of our military's political work is the principle of unity between officers and soldiers (官兵一致原则). The reason many leading cadres earn the recognition of officers and soldiers is that they consistently bow down, set a good example, and show concern for the grassroots and care for officers and soldiers. Comrade Peng Dehuai once said: 'As a cadre, no matter the circumstances, one must never stand high above the masses and become detached from them—one must often sit on the low stool.' Many veteran revolutionaries of the older generation, when going down to units for investigation and research, always liked to sit down and chat with officers and soldiers, and insisted on sitting on the soldiers' 'low stools.' In earning the trust of officers and soldiers, they also grasped genuine, vivid, first-hand conditions.

This military of ours was built on adherence to the Party's mass line (群众路线). On the new journey, leading cadres must solidly walk the mass line, strengthen the relationship between officers and soldiers, always sit on the same bench as officers and soldiers when thinking through problems, serve with wholehearted enthusiasm, organize and rally the broad ranks of officers and soldiers, unite them into a single 'hard block of steel,' and gather the powerful combined strength of 'those above and below united in purpose shall prevail (上下同欲者胜).'

Original Chinese

习主席在全军高级干部培训班开班式上强调：“高级干部要带头恢复和弘扬我党我军优良传统，放下官架子、回归革命军人本色，让新风正气在部队更加充盈。”贯彻这一重要指示精神，军队领导干部应树牢正确群众观，放下架子、深入基层，不坐“靠背椅”、甘坐“矮板凳”，在融入官兵中赢得信任、赢得威信。我军政治工作三大原则，官兵一致原则是第一条。很多领导干部之所以得到官兵认可，是因为处处俯下身子、树好样子，关心基层、关爱官兵。彭德怀同志曾说：“作为干部，无论什么时候都不能高高在上脱离群众，要常坐矮板凳。”很多老一辈革命家下部队调研，总是喜欢坐下来跟官兵聊一聊，而且坚持要坐战士们的“矮板凳”，在受到官兵信任的同时，也掌握了真实鲜活的第一手情况。我们这支军队是靠坚持党的群众路线起家的。新征程上，领导干部应扎实走好群众路线，密切官兵关系，始终同官兵坐在一条板凳上想问题，满腔热忱做好服务工作，把广大官兵组织起来、凝聚起来，团结成一块“坚硬的钢铁”，汇聚起“上下同欲者胜”的强大合力。