Political Work

Continuously Deepening Political Rectification Training · What a Good Political Cadre Looks Like | The Instructor's First Lesson

持续深化政治整训·政治干部好样子丨教导员的第一课

PLA Daily (解放军报) 15 May 2026

Summary

A PLA Daily narrative piece profiles a newly posted battalion instructor, Yan, who spent his first week conducting informal soldier outreach — accompanying guard watches, reading maintenance logs, and listening to personal conversations — before delivering a cohesion-themed political education class (密切内部关系) without slides or a prepared lesson plan, drawing instead on cases he had personally gathered. The article is standard political work content: its value is as a record of how the PLA frames the ideal political cadre (政治干部) for junior officers, specifically contrasting rote 'heart-to-heart talk' (谈心) box-checking against sustained, informal soldier contact. The appended commentary by Zhang Di makes the prescriptive intent explicit, calling on political cadres broadly to leave conference rooms and desks — framing that fits the recurring institutional push to address formalism (形式主义) in grassroots political work without indicating any new policy directive.

Translation

The Instructor's First Lesson

■ Cadre of a Certain Battalion, a Certain Brigade, Army: Song Changjian Illustration: Fang Han

Instructor Yan had been in post for one week, and I kept feeling he was a bit "off-key."

According to the education plan, he was scheduled to give a lecture to the entire battalion on Thursday. With the day fast approaching, he was neither preparing lesson materials nor holding discussion sessions — he was just wandering around the garrison area.

Worried he wouldn't be ready in time, I compiled some lecture materials and planned to use the occasion of delivering them to remind him not to forget about the class.

That evening after dinner, I went to find the instructor. At the time, he was chatting with soldier Xiao Zhao by the pull-up bars. Xiao Zhao was talking while pulling a photograph out of his pocket; the instructor was listening and nodding in response. Seeing this, I waited to one side.

After a while, the instructor walked over to me.

"You've been waiting this long — you must have something to tell me?" When the instructor spoke up, I laid out my concerns and handed him the materials. To my surprise, the instructor gave a chuckle and said he had been ready long ago. He then asked me: "Hu Linwang is in your company, isn't he?"

Hu Linwang was the deputy squad leader of the Fifth Squad in our company — solid in his fundamentals and always enthusiastic about his work.

The instructor handed me his phone. On the screen was a photo of the company's "five small repairs" (五小工) maintenance log. Below the log, a line had been written: "Can't even fix a shower module — and you want to make squad leader?" I looked carefully and recognized it as Hu Linwang's handwriting.

"The shower module broke down, and he volunteered to fix it, but couldn't get it done after half a day." The instructor said that the whole battalion had been forced to bathe in cold water that evening, and someone had muttered "what a half-baked job" — not realizing that Hu Linwang, who was bathing at the time, had heard it. Back in the dormitory, he silently stewed in frustration and wrote those words in the maintenance log.

My heart sank. In the year Hu Linwang had served as deputy squad leader and "five small repairs" man, fixing doors, changing locks, handling water and electrical repairs, he had never once dropped the ball. But lately, for some reason, door locks he changed today would come loose tomorrow, and a water tank he repaired twice was still leaking.

A while back, I had specifically sought him out for a heart-to-heart talk (谈心). He said everything was fine, and I had let it go. Hearing what the instructor said now, I stared at the photo and fell into thought: Hu Linwang had always been diligent — the company's universally recognized "old ox." I never expected that beneath his quiet, unassuming exterior, he was carrying so much grievance.

"When I first started leading soldiers, I was the same way — whenever I sat down with people for a heart-to-heart, everyone said 'pretty good' or 'no problem.'" The instructor patted my shoulder and said that later, an old soldier told him to try standing a few night watches with the men.

The instructor sought out Hu Linwang for talks three times, and each time Hu said he had no difficulties. One night, the instructor accompanied Hu Linwang on a guard watch, and Hu finally opened up about what was on his mind. "This morning I helped him contact the manufacturer to consult on the issue, and we looked into it together for two hours before finally finding the cause of the fault." The instructor said the shower module had been repaired and Hu Linwang's inner knot had been untied.

Back in my dormitory, I flipped open my heart-to-heart talk record book, and suddenly those entries I had previously found reassuring — "pretty good," "no problem" — looked glaringly wrong.

Thursday afternoon, the instructor's first lesson opened as scheduled. No laptop, no lesson plan — drawing on what he had seen and heard during his visits over the past few days, he began by telling the story of Hu Linwang repairing the shower module covered in grease, then spoke about the evening by the pull-up bars.

Only then did I learn that what Xiao Zhao had pulled from his pocket that day was a family portrait. The instructor said Xiao Zhao had kept that photograph close to his body for two years, taking it out to look at whenever he missed home.

The instructor paused briefly, then proposed setting up a "family photo wall" (全家福墙) in each company, where soldiers could voluntarily post photos of their families or write down words they wanted to say to their loved ones. There was a moment of silence in the room, followed immediately by a burst of warm applause.

This education session, themed "strengthening internal cohesion" (密切内部关系), was the first lesson the instructor had given since taking up his post. I understood that this lesson was not only for the soldiers — it was also the first lesson for those of us on the front line of leading troops.

(Compiled by Wang Shuyang, special correspondent for the PLA Daily)

A Good Lesson Comes from Among the Troops

■ Zhang Di

A good political education class can unite the hearts of the troops and boost morale. But how to deliver that class in a way that is both emotionally resonant and logically sound — entering the mind and touching the heart — tests the ability and wisdom of every political cadre.

Instructor Yan, newly arrived in his post, did not rush to sit at his desk and prepare lessons. Instead, he went deep into the corners of the garrison area and came to the side of officers and soldiers, capturing subtle emotions through casual listening, breaking down barriers of the heart through companionship on night watches, and reading the inner world and concerns of soldiers from a few words in a maintenance log and a family portrait kept close to the body. He brought the people and events around him into the classroom, replacing rigid principles with real stories and responding to real-world needs with warmhearted measures. This gave the education class both warmth and strength, and set a good example (好样子) of how a political cadre leads and cultivates soldiers.

To teach a class, one must first prepare; to prepare, one must first know one's soldiers. To do political and ideological work (思想政治工作) well in the new era, political cadres at large should shift their thinking and change their work style — step out of the conference room, step away from the desk, do more listening and less empty preaching, pursue more targeted measures and fewer rigid arrangements, and strive to make every education class radiate warmth, stay grounded, brim with vitality, and draw people in.

The materials for Instructor Yan's first lesson were "walked out" step by step; the resonance it produced was "exchanged" with sincerity. Political cadres would do well to take Instructor Yan's lesson-preparation experience and apply it broadly — keeping in mind the original intention of serving the troops (为兵初心), cultivating deep roots at the grassroots front line, and truly allowing "one tree to shake another tree, one cloud to push another cloud, one soul to awaken another soul," thereby generating the powerful drive to train for war and render meritorious service in the military camp.

Original Chinese

教导员的第一课 ■陆军某旅某营干部宋昶箭插图：方汉严教导员上任一周了，我总觉得他有点“不着调”。按照教育计划，周四他要给全营授课。眼看日子临近，他既不备课也不座谈，经常在营区转悠。担心他来不及，我整理了一些授课材料，准备借送材料的时机，提醒他别忘了这件事。这天晚饭后，我找到了教导员。当时，他正和战士小赵在单杠旁聊天。小赵一边说话，一边从口袋掏出张照片，教导员一边听，一边点头回应。见状，我在一旁等着。过了一会儿，教导员朝我走来。 “等了这么久，找我一定有事吧？”见教导员开口，我便说出自己的考虑并把材料递给他。没想到，教导员嘿嘿一笑，说早准备好了。他接着问我：“胡林旺是你们连的吧？” 胡林旺是我们连五班副班长，业务底子扎实，工作一直很积极。教导员把手机递过来，屏幕中是连队的“五小工”维修日志照片。日志下方写着一行字：“连个淋浴模块都修不好，还想当班长？”我仔细辨认，发现是胡林旺的笔迹。 “淋浴模块坏了，他主动去修，结果半天没修好。”教导员说，晚上全营不得不用凉水洗澡，有人嘟囔了一句“真是个半吊子”，没想到被正在洗澡的胡林旺听见了。回到宿舍，他暗自生闷气，便在维修日志上写下这句话。我心里一沉。胡林旺当副班长兼“五小工”这一年，修门换锁、水电维修，从没掉过链子。可最近不知怎么了，门锁今天换明天松，水箱修了两回还是漏。前段时间，我专门找他谈了心，他说一切正常，我便没放在心上。听教导员这么一说，我盯着照片陷入沉思：胡林旺向来工作踏实，是连队公认的“老黄牛”。没想到他看着默不作声，心里竟藏着这么多委屈。 “我刚开始带兵那会儿也这样，找大家谈心时，大家都说‘挺好’‘没事’。”教导员拍拍我肩膀说，后来有个老兵告诉他，夜里跟大家站几班岗试试。教导员找胡林旺聊了3次，他每次都说没困难。一天夜里，教导员陪胡林旺站了班岗，他终于把心事告诉了教导员。“今天上午我帮他联系厂家咨询，我们一起查了俩小时，终于找到了故障原因。”教导员说，淋浴模块已经修好了，胡林旺的心结也解开了。回到宿舍，我翻开谈心记录本，突然觉得那些以前看着放心的“挺好”“没问题”，如今看着特别刺眼。周四下午，教导员的第一课如期开讲。没拿电脑，没有教案，他结合这几天走访的见闻，先是讲了胡林旺满身油污维修淋浴模块的故事，又说起了那晚单杠旁的事。我这才知道，那天小赵从口袋掏出的，是一张与家人的合影。教导员说，这张照片小赵贴身揣了两年，想家的时候就拿出来看一看。教导员稍作停顿，提议在各连设置“全家福墙”，战士们可以自愿张贴家人照片，或者写下想对亲人说的话。现场先是一阵安静，随即爆发出热烈掌声。这堂以“密切内部关系”为主题的教育课，是教导员履职以来讲的第一课。我知道，这堂课不仅是给战士们讲的，也是给我们一线带兵人上的第一课。（解放军报特约通讯员王书扬整理）好课兵中来 ■张迪一堂好的政治教育课能够凝聚兵心、鼓舞士气，而如何把这堂课讲得入情入理、入脑入心，则考验着每一位政治干部的能力与智慧。教育是在人的头脑中做工作，必须因人而始、为人而施。上任伊始的严教导员并未急于伏案备课，而是深入营区角落、来到官兵身旁，在闲聊倾听中捕捉细微情绪，在夜岗陪伴中打开心灵隔阂，从维修日志的只言片语、贴身珍藏的全家福里，读懂战士的内心与牵挂。他把身边人、身边事搬进课堂，用真实故事替代生硬道理，用暖心举措回应现实诉求，既让教育课有温度、有力量，也立起政治干部带兵育人的好样子。授课先备课，备课先知兵。做好新时代思想政治工作，广大政治干部应转思维、改作风，走出会议室、远离办公桌，多一些侧耳倾听、少一些空洞说教，多一些精准施策、少一些生硬安排，努力让每一堂教育课冒热气、接地气，有生气、聚人气。严教导员的第一课，素材是用脚步“走”出来的，共鸣是用真心“换”出来的。政治干部不妨把严教导员的备课经验推而广之，牢记为兵初心、深耕基层一线，真正让“一棵树摇动另一棵树，一朵云推动另一朵云，一个灵魂唤醒另一个灵魂”，从而催生练兵备战、建功军营的强大动力。