Doctrine Political Work

Living in an Age of "Easy Access," Devote Yourself to Cultivating "Hard-Won" Qualities

身处“易得”时代，潜心涵养“难得”品质

PLA Daily (解放军报) 23 August 2026

Summary

A PLA political education essay by Li Qi and Chen Zhihua argues that the convenience of the information age—instant knowledge retrieval, AI-generated plans, fragmented reading—is eroding three qualities the authors call 难得品质 (hard-won qualities): composure in study, tolerance for hardship in training, and independent innovative thinking. The piece explicitly names 'checkbox-style' and 'scripted-style' exercises as habits to eliminate, and warns that AI search is producing 'answer dependency' that kills original tactical thought. This is standard political work content directed at junior officers and soldiers; its value is as a record of how PLA institutional media frames the tension between technological convenience and combat readiness, not as evidence of a new policy line or doctrinal shift.

Translation

Holding Fast to the "Hard-Won" in an Age of "Easy Access"

■ Li Qi, Chen Zhihua

● Devote yourself to cultivating "hard-won" qualities (难得品质); internalize and externalize the cultivation of composure (养静气), the tempering of hard work (砺苦功), and the embrace of innovation (善创新)

Tap a screen, and a torrent of information rushes in. Open an app, and life's services are delivered instantly. Run a precise search, and all manner of online courses and tutorials are within reach. The rapid iteration and empowerment of technology has made people's work and lives unprecedentedly convenient; "easy access" (易得) has become a defining characteristic of our era. This is a gift of the times, and also a test of the soldier's character. When knowledge is "easily obtained," can we still calm our minds, study deeply, and continue to scale the heights of truth? When experience is "easily obtained," are we still willing to put in hard work and continuously innovate strategies for battlefield victory? Living in an age of "easy access," officers and soldiers across the force must all the more devote themselves to cultivating "hard-won" qualities, internalizing and externalizing the cultivation of composure, the tempering of hard work, and the embrace of innovation.

Cultivate the "hard-won" quality of composure; do not be tainted by the wind of empty vanity. In the information age, every flicker of a screen and every push notification easily scatters one's attention; the prevalence of "fragmented reading" (碎片化阅读) makes it all the harder to quiet the mind, cleanse one's thoughts, and allow wisdom to settle. To cultivate composure is to guard a patch of pure ground within the heart amid the noise and clamor. Officers and soldiers must shed the "shallow" and seek the "deep," consciously resist the superficialization and entertainmentization of information, settle their minds, and reclaim the power of focus through deep exploration of a single book or a single subject. They must shed "restlessness" and seek "steadiness," take their work seriously, cast aside the wind of empty vanity, refrain from seeking quick results, and treat every operation, every map plot, and every deduction exercise as a training ground for cultivating composure—seeking refinement through repetition, revealing true skill through tedium, and allowing inner composure to settle into the solid foundation for planning for war and achieving victory.

Temper the "hard-won" quality of hard work; do not sink into the pleasures of ease and comfort. A prolonged period of peace can easily cause soldiers' sense of hardship and danger to fade and their spirit of enduring hardship to weaken, creating the illusion that peace is "easily obtained" and war is distant. One must understand: a more comfortable life does not equal a stronger ability to win battles; better conditions do not mean greater martial spirit and courage (血性胆气). Officers and soldiers must impose pressure on themselves, cast aside "checkbox-style" (过关式) training and "scripted-style" (剧本式) exercises, and under conditions of genuine difficulty, rigor, and realism, force out their potential and push to their limits—returning to the true nature of "war," letting "hardship" become the soldier's defining quality, and forging hard skills through sweat and through genuine preparation for real combat. They must overcome the temptation of "ease," proactively "declare war" on comfort and "struggle against" convenience, forge true skills into "muscle memory," and transform hard capabilities into the confidence to win battles. They must sharpen the self-awareness to "train," treating training as a way of life and a career, shifting from "being made to train" to "wanting to train," proactively setting themselves difficult problems, adding pressure, and increasing intensity—remaining meticulous even when no one is watching, and upholding high standards and strict requirements at all times and in all places.

Pursue the "hard-won" quality of innovation; do not become trapped within the confines of experience. At present, AI search makes "experience" instantly available at one's fingertips, and clicking "auto-generate" can produce a seemingly comprehensive plan. But once the spirit of independent inquiry is lost, intellectual laziness quietly takes root, sparks of thought gradually fall silent, and innovation can no longer generate genuine vitality. War never repeats yesterday's script; the weight of victory always tilts toward the side that dares to innovate and excels at innovation. Officers and soldiers must break free from "answer dependency" (答案依赖), get to the root of conclusions, develop the habit of asking one more layer of questions and thinking one step deeper, refine "easily obtained" answers into original thinking, and let the blade of thought pierce through the cocoon of experience (经验茧房). They must be adept at "dissecting the sparrow" (解剖麻雀), drilling deep into underlying principles, stripping away surface appearances and touching the essence from typical battle cases, equipment performance, and training data—never mistaking "close enough" for "truly understood"—so that innovation is built on a solid theoretical foundation. They must break out of the "rut of experience" (经验窠臼), dare to say no to "old routines," boldly innovate tactics and training methods (战法训法) in the heat of troop-training practice, let innovative results shine through the test of actual combat, and provide support for winning future wars.

Original Chinese

在“易得”时代守“难得” ■李琦陈志华 ●潜心涵养“难得”品质，将养静气、砺苦功、善创新内化于心、外化于行点击屏幕，海量信息奔涌而至；打开软件，生活服务即刻送达；精准搜索，各类网课教程触手可及……科技的快速迭代与赋能，让人们的工作和生活变得前所未有的便捷，“易得”已然成为当今时代的一个显著特征。这是时代的馈赠，也是对军人心性的考验。当知识“易得”，我们是否还能沉心静气、深学细研，不断攀登真理高峰？当经验“易得”，我们是否还肯下苦功不断创新胜战之策？身处“易得”时代，广大官兵更须潜心涵养“难得”品质，将养静气、砺苦功、善创新内化于心、外化于行。养“难得”静气，不染虚浮之风。身处信息化时代，屏幕的每一次闪烁、信息的每一次推送，都容易使人分散精力；“碎片化阅读”的盛行，更使人难以静心涤虑、沉淀智慧。养静气，就是要在喧闹嘈杂中，为内心守住一方净土。广大官兵要去“浮”求“深”，自觉抵制信息浅表化、娱乐化，沉下心来，在一本书、一个课题的深度求索中重拾专注的力量。要去“躁”求“稳”，认真对待工作，摒弃虚浮之风，不急于求成，把每一次操作、每一次标图、每一次推演都当作涵养静气的训练场，于重复中求精进，于枯燥中见真功，把内心静气沉淀为谋战打赢的坚实底蕴。砺“难得”苦功，不溺安逸之乐。承平日久，易导致军人忧患意识淡化、吃苦精神弱化，形成和平“易得”、战争遥远的错觉。须知，生活更舒适了，不等于打赢能力更强了；条件更优厚了，不意味着血性胆气更足了。广大官兵须自加压力，摒弃“过关式”训练、“剧本式”演练，在真难严实中逼出潜能、逼出极限，回归“战”的本真，让“苦”成为军人底色，让硬功夫在汗水中浸润、在真打实备中练就。必须战胜“逸”的诱惑，主动向安逸“宣战”、同舒适“较劲”，把真功夫练成“肌肉记忆”，把硬本领化为胜战底气。必须砥砺“练”的自觉，把训练当日子过、当事业干，从“要我练”转变为“我要练”，主动给自己设难题、加压力、上强度，在无人督促时亦一丝不苟，时时处处坚持高标准严要求。求“难得”创新，不陷经验之囿。当前，AI搜索让“经验”唾手可得，点击“一键生成”便能得到看似周全的方案；而自主钻研精神一旦缺失，思维惰性便会悄然滋生，思想火花便会逐渐沉寂，创新便难以焕发出真正活力。战争从不重复昨天的剧本，制胜的砝码永远偏向敢于创新、善于创新的一方。广大官兵必须破除“答案依赖”，对结论刨根问底，习惯于多问一层、深想一步，把“易得”答案提炼为独创思考，让思想锋刃刺破经验茧房。必须善于“解剖麻雀”，深钻底层原理，从典型战例、装备性能、训练数据中剥离表象、触及本质，不把“差不多”当“真明白”，让创新建立在坚实的学理基础之上。必须跳出“经验窠臼”，敢向“老套路”说不，在火热的练兵实践中大胆创新战法训法，让创新成果在实战检验中绽放光芒，为打赢未来战争提供助力。