Theory Garden|Why does our party attach great importance to summarizing historical experience?

(Source: Qiushi.com 2021-11-07）

“Learning from history can help us know the ups and downs. ”

It is a good tradition of our party to attach importance to the study of history and the summary and application of historical experience to find the correct direction and path forward. It is also an important reason why our party leads the Chinese revolution, construction, and reform to achieve continuous victory.

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“History is the best textbook and the best sobering agent”

History is a true record of the formation, development and rise and fall of a nation or a country. It is the collection of various knowledge, experiences and wisdom of the predecessors. It is a sample library of successes and failures, experiences and lessons of human activities.

Studying history and summarizing experience will help deepen the understanding of the laws of historical development and provide reference and guidance for new practice. It was through in-depth study of the history of human social development that Marx and Engels revealed the historical laws of human social development and created historical materialism; through research on the process of capitalist economic movement, they revealed the secrets of capitalist exploitation, created the theory of surplus value, and provided scientific guidance for the progress of human civilization. In the process of uniting and leading the people of all ethnic groups in the country to carry out revolution, construction, and reform, our party has constantly summarized historical experience and continuously deepened its understanding of the laws governing the Communist Party, the laws of socialist construction, and the laws of human society development. It has achieved innovative development of the Sinicization theory of Marxism and provided scientific guidance for strengthening party building and promoting social development.

Studying history and summarizing experience will help us make correct historical choices more clearly. When summarizing the experience and lessons of the Chinese revolution, Comrade Mao Zedong once pointed out: "Mistakes and setbacks teach us lessons and make us smarter, so we can do things better." General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that history is the best teacher. "Many things we encounter today can be found in history, and many things that have happened in history can also be used as mirrors for today." History not only gives people knowledge, but also gives people warning. In various historical periods, our party has always studied and summarized history, established a historical perspective, applied historical thinking, learned from historical experience, and explored historical laws. Then, at important junctures in history, it made correct historical decisions with a high degree of theoretical sobriety and political consciousness.

“Whenever you move forward, you must not forget the path you have traveled.”

History, reality, and the future are interlinked. History is the reality of the past, and reality is the history of the future. Paying attention to history, studying history, and learning from history can bring a lot of wisdom to mankind to understand yesterday, grasp today, and create tomorrow.

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Comrade Mao Zedong once pointed out: “If you want to look at the future, you must look at history. "Carrying out revolution, construction, and reform in China is an unprecedented undertaking. There is no ready-made path that can be copied. You can only explore it yourself. Reviewing history and summarizing experience is an important way to explore. Only by summarizing historical experience can we understand the ins and outs of the cause of the party and the country and understand the party and the country. Major events, important meetings and important figures in history, and a deep understanding of the great path opened by our party, the great achievements established, the great spirit forged, and the valuable experience accumulated in the century of continuous struggle; only then can we objectively understand the current situation of the world, the country, and the party, and see clearly the future and direction of the development of the cause of the party and the people.

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that historical development has its own laws. "As long as we grasp the laws and general trends of historical development, seize the opportunity of historical change, follow the trend, and work hard, we will be able to move forward better." To look far forward, you must look far back; looking backward is to move forward better. By studying history and summarizing experience, we can find scientific answers to create the future and take a good path towards the future.

“Being good at summarizing experience is the task of a leader”

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that “to achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, we must have a strong force to lead the Chinese people forward, and this strong force is the Communist Party of China.” Over the past 100 years, a key reason why the Communist Party of China has played a strong core leadership role in leading the Chinese nation towards the great rejuvenation is that our party has always insisted on arming the mind with Marxist theory, and has a profound understanding and grasp of the inherent laws and directions of history. Therefore, it can serve as the vanguard of the Chinese working class, and at the same time the vanguard of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation, always standing at the forefront of the times and leading the advancement of history.

2021Year6month18Day, party and state leaders Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji,Han Zheng, Wang Qishan and others visited the "'Don't Forget the Original Aspiration, Keep the Mission in Mind' History Exhibition of the Communist Party of China" at the History Exhibition Hall of the Communist Party of China. After the visit, Xi Jinping led party members and leading comrades to review the oath of joining the party together. Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Xueren/photo

This is inseparable from the fact that our party has always attached great importance to and is good at learning history and summing up experience. By continuously studying history and summarizing experience, we can clarify the history of the party and the path that the party has taken in history. Our party can master the scientific methods of leading historical development, continuously improve its leadership capabilities and standards, and thus promote the development and progress of its cause. Regarding this point, Comrade Mao Zedong once pointed out vividly, "I make a living by summing up experience." The party’s century-long history of struggle clearly shows that attaching importance to and being good at summarizing historical experience is an important way for our party to continuously achieve self-purification, self-improvement, self-innovation, and self-improvement. It is also an important ideological method and working method for our party to achieve correct leadership.

For details, please see the article "Paying Attention to Summarizing Historical Experience is a Good Tradition of Our Party" by the Party History and Documentation Research Institute of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China

People’s Daily: Why does our party attach great importance to summarizing historical experience?