Doctrine Political Work

Forge the Military Soul with Ironclad Resolve, Follow the Party Forever

铁心铸军魂永远跟党走

PLA Daily (解放军报) 1 July 2026

Summary

A PLA political education article published in what appears to be a milestone anniversary year frames Party command over the military as the non-negotiable 'military soul' (军魂), invoking Xi Jinping's formulation that it is the force's 'lifeline' (命根子) and citing historical examples from the Long March and 1927 to anchor absolute Party loyalty as the precondition for combat effectiveness. The article's explicit framing of an ongoing contest between 'forging the soul' and 'corroding the soul' documents the institution's internal anxiety about ideological reliability—not as a new policy line, but as a recurring pressure campaign directed at officers and soldiers who might waver on the Party command principle. This is standard political work content; its value is as a baseline record of how the PLA frames the loyalty imperative to the force in a year the article itself marks as significant: the 105th CPC founding anniversary, the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, and the 90th anniversary of the Long March victory.

Translation

One day in 1940, after Railway Guerrilla Force commander Hong Zhenhai submitted his application to join the Party, the Party organization entrusted him with the sole Party flag belonging to the Railway Guerrilla Force. In the days that followed, Hong Zhenhai bound the Party flag to his body and would not remove it even when eating or sleeping. When his wife asked what the red cloth was, he said it was a 'talisman' for winning battles.

Passing through the smoke of history, the Party flag flies in a different form above Tiananmen Square. On July 1, 2021, at the grand ceremony celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, a CPC Party flag advanced into the wind under the escort of a helicopter flag-guard formation, and following close behind the brilliant red Party flag were new-model combat aircraft of the People's Army soaring with outstretched wings.

'No flag is so miraculous—tempered in the fires of war, yet still so beautiful.' This song in praise of the Party flag gives voice to an indestructible truth: where the Party flag stands, faith stands, spirit stands, and strength stands. A person with a soul is courageous; an army with a soul is cohesive. Upholding the Party's absolute leadership over the military is the spiritual element flowing in the bloodline of every revolutionary soldier, the cipher behind the People's Army's unbroken march from victory to victory, and the military soul (军魂) of our armed forces that will never change.

'The People's Army was founded by the Party and grew strong under the Party's cultivation.' The military soul did not fall from the sky; it was won by Communists with blood and life. In 1927, the Kuomintang reactionaries brazenly launched a counter-revolutionary coup, and white terror blanketed the entire country. It was precisely the lesson written in blood that gave rise to the thesis that 'political power grows out of the barrel of a gun,' and to the declaration that 'the army is called the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, and its banner bears the sickle and the axe.'

On the 35th anniversary of the founding of the army, Comrade Zhu De composed a poem: 'The founding principle of the army is to honor the Party's leadership. It is not the army that commands the Party, but only the Party that commands the army.' A personal bodyguard who did not follow Zhang Guotao when he defected later said to Comrade Zhou Enlai: 'I am a Communist Party member. He may have stopped making revolution, but I will carry on.' Without the Party in one's heart, even the highest position is like duckweed adrift; with firm faith, every person's heart holds a bedrock. During the Long March, the 'Grasslands Party Branch (草地党支部)' gathered together dozens of wounded and sick soldiers who had fallen behind, and 'like a copper rope twisted together,' led everyone out of desperate straits and back to follow the northward-marching red banner.

Invincibility has its foundation; unswerving resolve has its soul. Over the past century, the fundamental reason our armed forces have always maintained powerful cohesion, centripetal force (向心力), and combat effectiveness—withstanding every test and advancing continuously from victory to victory—is the Party's firm leadership. It is precisely because of the Party's absolute leadership over the military, and precisely because the barrel of the gun has always been held by those who are loyal and reliable to the Party, that our armed forces have not lost their bearings through prolonged and complex struggle. History has fully demonstrated that upholding the Party's absolute leadership over the military bears on the nature and purpose of our armed forces, bears on the future and destiny of socialism, and bears on the long-term stability of the Party and the state.

Yesterday had its own formidable passes and rugged roads; today has its own towering peaks of the era. Under the new situation, the contest between forging the soul (铸魂) and corroding the soul (蛀魂), the tug-of-war between consolidating the roots (固根) and destroying the roots (毁根), has not ceased for a single moment. To strengthen the military, one must first strengthen the mind; to strengthen the mind, forging the soul is paramount. On the fundamental question of upholding the Party's absolute leadership over the military, all officers and soldiers of the armed forces must maintain an especially clear head, an especially resolute stance, and especially decisive action—there must be absolutely no wavering, no hesitation, no ambiguity whatsoever.

Chairman Xi has emphasized: 'On the road ahead, the People's Army must firmly uphold the Party's absolute leadership over the military, treating this as the military soul that the People's Army can never change and the lifeline (命根子) it can never relinquish.' The first item of the Party's goal for building a strong military in the new era is 'obeying the Party's command (听党指挥)'; the foremost quality in striving to be a 'Four-Haves (四有)' revolutionary soldier of the new era is 'having a soul (有灵魂).' This year marks the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, the inaugural year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, and the 90th anniversary of the Red Army's victory on the Long March. The military flag points forever toward the Party; forge the military soul with ironclad resolve. Standing on the soil of the motherland, bearing the hopes of the nation, the People's Army, guided by the Party's banner, will surely fight and win the decisive battle to achieve the centenary goal of the armed forces (建军一百年奋斗目标), and will continuously open up new vistas in building a strong military and rejuvenating the armed forces.

Original Chinese

1940年的一天，铁道游击队队长洪振海向党组织递交入党申请书后，党组织将铁道游击队唯一一面党旗交给他保管。随后的日子里，洪振海把党旗绑在身上，吃饭、睡觉也不解下来。妻子问他这块红布是什么，他说是打胜仗的“护身符”。穿越历史烽烟，党旗以另外一种姿态飘扬在天安门广场上空。2021年7月1日，在庆祝中国共产党成立100周年大会上，一面中国共产党党旗，在直升机护旗梯队护卫下迎风向前，紧随鲜红党旗的，是振翅翱翔的人民军队新型战机。 “没有哪一面旗帜这样神奇，在战火中淬炼，依然那样美丽。”这首赞颂党旗的歌谣，唱出了一个颠扑不破的真理——党旗在，信仰就在，精神就在，力量就在。人有魂则勇，军有魂则聚。坚持党对军队的绝对领导，是革命军人血脉里流淌的精神因子，是人民军队不断从胜利走向胜利的密码，是我军永远不变的军魂。 “人民军队党缔造，成长壮大党培养。”军魂不是从天上掉下来的，而是共产党人用鲜血和生命换来的。1927年，国民党反动派悍然发动反革命政变，白色恐怖笼罩全国。正是有了血的教训，才有了“政权是由枪杆子中取得的”论断，才有了“军叫工农革命，旗号镰刀斧头”。建军35周年时，朱德同志赋诗一首：“建军总原则，党的领导尊。非军指挥党，惟党指挥军。”张国焘叛逃时没能带走的贴身警卫员后来对周恩来同志说：“我是个共产党员，他不革命，我还要革命呢！”心中无党，位高亦如浮萍；信仰坚定，人人心中有磐石。长征途中的“草地党支部”，把掉队的数十名伤病员收拢在一起，“就像一根拧在一起的铜绳”，引领大家走出绝境，跟上了北上的红旗。无往不胜因有本，矢志不渝因有魂。近百年来，我军之所以能始终保持强大的凝聚力、向心力、战斗力，经受住各种考验，不断从胜利走向胜利，最根本的就是靠党的坚强领导。正是有了党对军队的绝对领导，正是因为枪杆子始终掌握在对党忠诚可靠的人手里，才保证了我军在长期复杂斗争中没有迷失方向。历史充分证明，坚持党对军队的绝对领导，关系我军的性质和宗旨、关系社会主义前途命运、关系党和国家长治久安。昔日有昔日的雄关漫道，今天有今天的时代峰峦。新形势下，铸魂与蛀魂的较量、固根与毁根的拉锯，一刻也没有停歇。强军必先强心，强心重在铸魂。在坚持党对军队绝对领导的根本原则问题上，全军官兵必须头脑特别清醒，态度特别鲜明，行动特别坚决，决不能有任何动摇、任何迟疑、任何含糊。习主席强调：“前进道路上，人民军队必须牢牢坚持党对军队的绝对领导，把这一条当作人民军队永远不能变的军魂、永远不能丢的命根子。”党在新时代的强军目标，第一条是“听党指挥”；争做“四有”新时代革命军人，首要的是“有灵魂”。今年是中国共产党成立105周年，是“十五五”开局之年，是红军长征胜利90周年。军旗永向党，铁心铸军魂。脚踏着祖国的大地，背负着民族的希望，人民军队在党的旗帜引领下，必定打好实现建军一百年奋斗目标攻坚战，不断开创强军兴军新局面。