Doctrine Political Work

Strong Military Forum | May This Life Be Ever Devoted to the Nation

强军论坛丨愿得此身长报国

PLA Daily (解放军报) 3 June 2026

Summary

A political work essay published under the PLA's 'Strong Military Forum' banner instructs senior military commanders to subordinate personal interest to Party loyalty, prioritize warfighting readiness over bureaucratic comfort, and maintain personal integrity against corruption, invoking Peng Dehuai, Huang Kecheng, and Founding Major General Peng Xianlun as behavioral models. The article documents the PLA's persistent institutional problem of commanders who 'guard their turf, muddle through their days' and neglect combat preparation — framing CMC Chairman responsibility system compliance and anti-corruption discipline as inseparable from battlefield effectiveness. This is standard political work content directed at senior cadres; its value is as a record of how the institution frames the loyalty-competence-integrity triad as a unified command obligation rather than treating them as distinct personnel concerns.

Translation

May This Life Be Ever Devoted to the Nation

■ Sang Ye

"May this life be ever devoted to the nation — why must one return alive through Yumen Pass?" This verse expresses the sincere heart and life's aspiration of a frontier commander who dedicates himself to the nation and faces death with equanimity. It also establishes the breadth of mind, ambition, and pursuit that a commander ought to possess.

Today, what should a commander do? Chairman Xi has given the answer: "We must at all times keep the Party and the people in mind, keep national sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity in mind, keep national defense and military building in mind, work diligently day and night, perform our duties conscientiously, do our work with full effort, and absolutely never let down the trust placed in us by the Party and the people, and absolutely never let down the expectations of the broad ranks of officers and soldiers throughout the armed forces."

"The general is the prop of the state. If the prop is thorough, the state will surely be strong; if the prop has gaps, the state will surely be weak." The power in a commander's hands is granted by the Party and the people and is to be used to serve the Party and the people — it belongs to the public, not to the private individual, and can only be used to relieve the Party's concerns, to work for the nation's affairs, and to seek benefit for the people. Among the founding generals and marshals of our country, Peng Dehuai — who "stood with sword drawn astride his horse" — and Huang Kecheng — praised within the Party for his integrity and uprightness — all rendered immortal meritorious service to the Party and the people. These generals and marshals told us through a lifetime of conduct that being entrusted with great responsibility by the Party and the people and becoming a general is not for you to guard your turf, muddle through your days, or bring glory to your ancestors — it is for you to lead troops in battle and serve the nation with absolute loyalty. The "highness" of senior military cadres lies absolutely not in the "height" of status, rank, power, or privileges, but should lie in the "height" of loyalty to the Party, warfighting capability, ideological realm, and conduct and discipline.

Obeying the Party's command is the soul of a strong military and an important magic weapon for defeating the enemy. What is a commander to do? It is to set the standard and serve as a model in obeying the Party's command and being loyal to the Party. For senior military cadres to "devote this life ever to the nation," they must revere the great virtue of loyalty to the Party, consistently heed the Party's words, and wholeheartedly follow the Party. This requires that commanders, in taking the lead in implementing the system of Chairman of the Central Military Commission responsibility (军委主席负责制), maintain an especially clear head, an especially firm stance, and especially resolute action; work hard to improve political capability; strictly observe political discipline and political rules; and genuinely serve as guardians of the political gate and carriers forward of tradition.

Never forgetting war even while at peace is the duty of a commander. What is a commander to do? It is to be a battle commander whose heart is oriented toward the battlefield and who can fight and win — absolutely never to be a mediocre official who neglects military affairs and accomplishes nothing. Senior military cadres bear a burden of a thousand jun upon their shoulders and have thousands upon thousands of troops behind them; their responsibilities are connected to national security, the outcome of war, and the lives and deaths of officers and soldiers — their mission is as weighty as a mountain, and great responsibilities rest on their shoulders. If the military cannot win on the battlefield, that will produce grave political consequences. On the new journey, senior military cadres must firmly establish baseline thinking and extreme-case thinking (底线思维和极限思维), forever preserve the courage to fight resolutely and not shrink from battle, the confidence to plan and strategize and achieve certain victory in battle, and the audacity to stand sword drawn astride the horse and ask "if not I, then who?" They must uphold combat effectiveness as the sole and fundamental standard, concentrate their energy on studying military affairs, studying war, and studying how to fight, achieve genuine understanding of how to fight, skill in strategy, and ability to command, truly comprehend the developments and changes in modern warfare, and possess the practical ability to lead troops to victory in modern warfare.

Since ancient times, integrity has generated authority in a commander. What is a commander to do? It is to build a firm ideological line of defense against corruption and degeneration, forever preserve the political character of integrity and clean governance, and at all times remain steady in mind and spirit, in control of one's conduct, and unblemished. Founding Major General Peng Xianlun spent his entire life engaged in logistics work and consistently maintained clean and honest public service and a plain and hardworking lifestyle — he wore one garment for seven years, patched it twenty-one times, and still did not discard it. Some relatives hoped he would take money for use in his hometown and household; Peng Xianlun said: "I do have money and goods in my hands, but all of it belongs to the public — not a single copper coin can be misused." Senior military cadres should consciously learn from revolutionary predecessors, take the lead in establishing and practicing a correct view of political achievement (政绩观), exercise power fairly, exercise power according to law, exercise power for the people, and exercise power with integrity; guard the ideological line of defense, the baseline for the exercise of power, the red line of law and discipline, and the boundary of family conduct; put into practice the requirements of steadfast belief, pragmatism, responsibility, and self-discipline; and, through a conduct and image of loyalty, integrity, and responsibility, and through concrete action, shoulder the historic mission entrusted by the Party and the people.

Original Chinese

愿得此身长报国 ■桑叶 “愿得此身长报国，何须生入玉门关。”这句诗表达了边关将领以身许国、视死如归的至诚之心、人生志向，也立起了为将者应有的胸襟、抱负和追求。今天，为将者应当干什么？习主席给出了答案：“我们一定要时刻以党和人民为念，以国家主权、安全、领土完整为念，以国防和军队建设为念，夙夜在公，恪尽职守，全力做好工作，决不辜负党和人民的重托，决不辜负全军广大官兵的期望。” “夫将者，国之辅也。辅周则国必强，辅隙则国必弱。”为将者手中的权力是党和人民赋予的，是用来为党和人民做事的，姓公不姓私，只能用来为党分忧、为国干事、为民谋利。在我国开国将帅中，“横刀立马”的彭德怀、“党内夸刚正”的黄克诚等，都为党和人民立下了不朽功勋。这些将帅用一生的品行告诉我们，被党和人民委以重任当了将军，不是让你去守摊子、混日子、光宗耀祖的，而是要你带兵打仗、精忠报国的。军队高级干部之“高”，绝非“高”在地位、军衔、权势、待遇上，而应“高”在对党忠诚上、打仗能力上、思想境界上、作风纪律上。听党指挥是强军之魂，是克敌制胜的重要法宝。为将干什么？就是要在听党指挥、对党忠诚上树标杆、作表率。军队高级干部“愿得此身长报国”，必须崇尚对党忠诚的大德，一以贯之听党话、一心一意跟党走。这就要求为将者在带头贯彻军委主席负责制上，要头脑特别清醒、态度特别鲜明、行动特别坚决，着力提高政治能力，严守政治纪律和政治规矩，切实当好政治守门人、传统弘扬者。守不忘战，将之任也。为将干什么？就是要当心向战场、战之能胜的战将，决不当不务战事、碌碌无为的庸官。军队高级干部身上千钧重担，身后千军万马，职责连着国家安危、战争胜败、官兵生死，使命如山，重任在肩。如果军队在战场上打不赢，那是要产生严重政治后果的。新征程上，军队高级干部必须树牢底线思维和极限思维，永葆坚决斗争、不惜一战的勇气，运筹帷幄、战之必胜的底气，横刀立马、舍我其谁的胆气。坚持战斗力这个唯一的根本的标准，集中精力研究军事、研究战争、研究打仗，做到懂打仗、善谋略、会指挥，真正看懂现代战争发展变化，具备带领部队打赢现代化战争的实际本领。自古为将廉生威。为将干什么？就是要筑牢拒腐防变的思想防线、永葆清正廉洁的政治本色，任何时候都稳得住心神、管得住行为、守得住清白。开国少将彭显伦一生从事后勤工作，始终廉洁奉公、艰苦朴素，一件衣服穿了7年、打了21个补丁也没扔掉。有些亲戚希望他拿些钱给家乡和家中使用，彭显伦说：“我手上是有钱有物的，但那都是公家的，一个铜板都不能乱用。”军队高级干部应自觉向革命前辈学习，带头树立和践行正确政绩观，做到公正用权、依法用权、为民用权、廉洁用权，守好思想防线、用权底线、法纪红线、家风界线，将笃信、务实、担当、自律的要求落到实处，以忠诚干净担当的作风形象和实际行动，扛起党和人民赋予的历史重任。