Abstract: Looking back at the history of the Communist Party of China over the past 100 years, it is the glorious tradition of our party to formulate and implement correct lines, principles, and policies on the basis of in-depth investigation and study. ** Comrades are a shining example of our party's practice and promotion of investigation and research. In May 1930, ** led the Red Fourth Army to conquer Xunwu County, and carried out a social survey here for more than 20 days, which was the largest survey at that time, and was later compiled into "Xunwu Investigation". * In the investigation, I have obtained a lot of first-hand information, and I have figured out many problems that I did not know or did not know much in the past, and I have made a new leap in thinking. The in-depth and realistic working principles and methods adhered to in the investigation of seeking truth from facts, the mass line, and the problem orientation still have important guiding and reference significance for how to do a good job in investigation and research today.
Investigation and study is the heirloom of our party and the basic skill for doing a good job in all aspects of work. In his speech at the education work conference on the theme of studying Xi implementing the ideology of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, the general secretary pointed out that it is necessary to organize the majority of party members and cadres, especially leading cadres at all levels, to sink to the front line in accordance with the work plan for investigation and research in the whole party. Looking back at the history of the CPC over the past 100 years, it is our party's glorious tradition to formulate and implement correct lines, principles, and policies on the basis of in-depth investigation and study. ** Comrades are a shining example of our party's practice and promotion of investigation and research. In May 1930, he led the Red Fourth Army to conquer Xunwu County, and carried out a social survey here for more than 20 days, which was the largest survey at that time. The in-depth and realistic working principles and methods adhered to in the investigation of seeking truth from facts, the mass line, and the problem orientation still have important guiding and reference significance for how to do a good job in investigation and research today.
1. The investigation is an investigation and study carried out in order to make up for the shortcomings of the investigation activities in the rural areas and neglect the cities, to oppose and correct the mistakes of the "leftist" leaning, and to think about how to further formulate the correct line to guide the Chinese revolution.
When the Great Revolution was raging in 1927, the right wing of the Kuomintang betrayed the revolution and turned against the CCP, issuing an order to "kill 1,000 by mistake rather than miss one", creating a series of white terror incidents, and wantonly destroying the CCP's organizational structure and hunting down Communists. The cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party broke down completely, the great revolution launched by the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party was declared a failure, and a large number of outstanding Chinese sons and daughters fell in the bloody wind of the counterrevolution. According to incomplete statistics, from March 1927 to the first half of 1928, more than 310,000 communists and revolutionaries were killed. After the Great Revolution, the Party accumulated profound experience in both positive and negative aspects, began to explore ways to Sinicize Marxism in practice, initially put forward the basic idea of the new democratic revolution led by the proletariat, and began to understand the importance of carrying out the agrarian revolution and mastering the revolutionary armed forces.
In an extremely critical situation, in order to save the revolution, in mid-July 1927, the newly formed Provisional Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China resolutely decided on three major matters: to concentrate the troops under the control and influence of the Party in Nanchang and prepare to launch an armed uprising;Organize the peasants of Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, and Guangdong provinces, which have a good foundation for the workers' and peasants' movement, to launch the Autumn Harvest UprisingConvene an emergency meeting to discuss and decide on a new course after the defeat of the Revolution.
After the 87th Conference, ** launched the Autumn Harvest Uprising on the border of Hunan and Jiangxi according to the instructions. At the beginning of the Autumn Harvest Uprising, it suffered heavy losses due to the resistance of a counter-revolutionary army far stronger than itself. ** Seriously analyzed the situation, stopped the plan to attack Changsha, reorganized the army in Sanwan Village in September, rebuilt the military and political system of the army, built the party branch on the company, and established the party's leadership over the army. In early October, he led the rebel army to the Jinggangshan area, where the enemy's ruling power was weak, and began to explore the revolutionary road with Chinese characteristics. During this period, he wrote "Why China's Red Regime Can Exist" and "The Struggle in Jinggangshan", which systematically expounded the theory of armed secession of workers and peasants and the establishment of a red regime, and laid the foundation for the creation of a road theory of encircling the cities from the countryside and seizing power by force.
The theory of the revolutionary road with Chinese characteristics involves two core issues: rural and urban. In order to better clarify this path, it is necessary to clarify not only the countryside, but also the cities, and on this basis, the relationship between the city and the countryside should be clarified. At that time, the leading Workers' and Peasants' Red Army mainly fought in the countryside, and was relatively familiar with the situation in the countryside and lacked sufficient understanding of the situation in the cities. For this reason, it is urgent to have a more comprehensive understanding of the urban situation within the new theoretical framework. He also spoke of himself as "a man who was determined to understand the problems of the city"[1], but never had the opportunity to do it well, and the investigation provided this opportunity.
In terms of ideological understanding, although the 87 Congress basically corrected the right-leaning opportunist mistakes made by Chen Duxiu in the later period of the Great Revolution, some comrades lacked an understanding of China's complex national conditions and the long-term nature of the revolution, lacked an examination of the situation, and the Comintern blindly commanded the Chinese revolution because they did not understand the specific situation of the Chinese revolution, so that "leftist" sentiment began to breed in the party. The enlarged meeting of the Provisional Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China held in November 1927 failed to clearly understand the situation and determined a plan for a nationwide armed insurrection centered on the cities, which enabled the "leftist" blind movement to gain a dominant position in the whole party and caused great harm to the Chinese revolution.
After the Sixth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party carried out a resolute change in its work. The CCP has focused on correcting the kind of "leftist" blind movement that only relies on a small number of people to work hard and do whatever it takes. However, when the revolutionary situation had just improved, the four letters of instruction from the Comintern and the overly optimistic estimation of the revolutionary situation by some leading comrades of the Communist Party of China at that time prompted a sharp rise in the "leftist" adventurous mistakes within the Party, which had long occupied the Party's leading revolutionary ideology, mistakenly believed that the Chinese revolution and even the world revolution had entered a new upsurge, and blindly demanded a general uprising throughout the country and an attack on the central cities. In the course of the Red Army's orders to attack the big cities, some of the rural base areas were reduced or some were lost, and the Red Army suffered losses to varying degrees.
The opportunism and blindness of the leftist mistakes in action, without actual investigation, have also brought harm to the revolutionary cause. In particular, the party had not yet solved the urgent problem of the kulaks, had not yet had a complete understanding of the industrial and commercial conditions in China, and had a vague understanding of the urban poor and the commercial bourgeoisie. With this series of questions, in order to further understand the revolutionary situation at that time and the reality of China, overcome the erroneous decision-making within the party, form a correct and scientific revolutionary strategy, and improve the understanding of the development of the revolution, he finally made up his mind to squeeze out time in the busy military and political work to do a large-scale investigation and study in the search for Ukraine.
The investigation is not just a simple social survey, but a thorough investigation of China's national conditions in the early days of the agrarian revolution in order to find the correct road of the Chinese revolution, which reflects the exploration and thinking of the road of the Chinese revolution. At the same time, through the investigation of the search for Wu, he thought and theorized the information and experience obtained, so that the soul of the first thought and living soul could be initially formed.
Second, the investigation of the search for Wu comprehensively demonstrated the in-depth and realistic investigation methods and style of carrying out investigation and research, focusing on solving the problem of rich peasants and the commercial conditions of the cities that must be clarified to guide the revolution, and providing important support for deepening the theory of "the countryside surrounding the city".
In May 1930, with the help of Gu Bai and other comrades and the local ordinary people, after more than 20 days of social investigation and more than 10 days of investigation meetings, the investigation and research on the search for Wu was completed. In the investigation of the search for Wu, on the basis of following the actual situation of the search for Wu, the investigation objects are selected realistically, the investigation method is formulated, the direction of the investigation is clarified, and the in-depth and realistic investigation methods and styles run through the whole process.
1) Selection of survey subjects.
Determining the targets of investigation and research is the basis for doing a good job in investigation and research. In the process of investigation and research, whether the selected survey research objects are appropriate or not is directly related to the actual results of the investigation and research. **In the process of conducting research and research, great attention is paid to the breadth and representativeness of the research objects. He believes that the survey respondents should choose people who have a deep understanding of the socio-economic situation. "In terms of age, older people are the best, because they have a lot of experience and understand not only the current situation, but also cause and effect. Young people who have experience in struggle should also do it, because they have progressive ideas and sharp observations. In terms of occupation, workers too, peasants, merchants, intellectuals, sometimes soldiers, and hooligans too. [2] **In the search for Wuwu, the survey subjects involved a wide range, in terms of age, there are elderly, middle-aged, and young people, the largest research subject is 62 years old, and the youngest research subject is 23 years old. Among these people, especially Guo Youmei (59 years old, grocery store owner, former president of the Chamber of Commerce) and Fan Daming (51 years old, poor peasant, county Soviet clerk), two old gentlemen, provided rich materials for the investigation. In terms of occupation, there are cadres from counties, districts, and townships, ordinary peasants and workers, clerks at the county bureau's money, grain, and counters, poor talents in rural areas, elementary school teachers, and soldiers and small businesses. In addition, they also went deep into bazaars, shops, and workshops to talk to hawkers, merchants, workers, and homeless people, and extensively learned about the living and ideological conditions of people from all walks of life. ** In the investigation and research of the search for Wuwu, we fully contacted the masses and fully understood the real situation of the masses, so as to concentrate the wisdom of the people, reflect the public opinion, and reflect the people's feelings, which laid a good foundation for the smooth realization of the investigation goals and tasks.
2) Formulate investigation methods.
In order to have a more comprehensive understanding of the county town and the situation of the agrarian revolution in Xunwu, we insisted on carrying out investigation and research by combining investigation meetings and specific visits. "Only in this way can we get close to being correct and draw conclusions. It is easy to make mistakes in the method of not holding an investigative meeting, not conducting a discussion-style investigation, and relying only on one person to talk about his experience. The method of simply asking questions and debating the central issue at the table will not be able to draw conclusions that are close to correct. [3] Before the investigation meeting, a detailed investigation outline was listed, and a total of five major items were listed: the political division of the search for Wu, the transportation of the search for Wu, the commerce of the search for Wu, the old land relations in the search for Wu, and the land struggle for the search for Wu. Under each heading, there are a few to a dozen detailed items, and under the subheadings, dozens of specific problems are listed, which are reflected in great detail in the "Investigation of the Search for Wu". In the process of carrying out the investigation, he personally presided over the investigation meeting, and often went deep into the field to investigate, and in this process, he was the chairman and recorded from beginning to end. "It is very easy to study one place thoroughly, and then study other places, so that you can understand the general situation. If we look at the situation from the sidelines, as a certain comrade said, 'only ask questions everywhere for a while,' then we will not be able to understand the depth of the problem for the rest of our lives. This approach is clearly wrong. [4] "All those who are responsible for guiding work, from the chairman of the township to the chairman of the whole country, from the captain of the brigade to the commander-in-chief, from the secretary of the branch to the general secretary, must personally engage in the actual investigation of the social economy, and cannot rely on written reports alone, because the two are two different things. ”[5]
3) Clarify the direction of the investigation.
In the investigation of the search for Wu, ** has repeatedly cut into questions. ** It is believed that the previous surveys also had a great drawback, that is, they were biased towards the countryside and not on the cities, so that many comrades were always vague about the strategies of the urban poor and the commercial bourgeoisie. In order to better meet the needs of the revolutionary struggle, it is urgent to pay attention to the understanding of the city. "I didn't know everything about the kulaks in China, and I was a complete layman about the state of business, so I made a great effort to do this investigation. [6] After the investigation of the search for Wu, ** began to understand a little bit of the city's business conditions like a primary school student Fameng" [7]. Thus, the investigation of the search for Wu made it possible to clarify the kulak question and the state of commerce in the cities, which were urgently needed to guide the revolution.
1.The kulak question.
** In the search for Wu, the rich peasants were divided into two categories: one was the small landlord called the "new rich man", and in the eyes of some people he was called the rich peasant instead of the small landlord, that is, the so-called "semi-landlord rich peasant". "This semi-landlord kulak is the worst enemy class in the countryside, and there is no reason why the poor peasants should not bring it down. [8] The other was the richer yeoman or middle peasant, who was actually the kulak. For such kulaks, many did not advocate striking them in the struggle, because they did not earn by exploiting others, but by their own labor. But *** thinks, "They are usurers except that they do not rent land for people to cultivate, because they have money to spare, and they have excess land." They processed their own agricultural products, such as turning millet into rice, and they picked and sold it themselves. They also do small hoarding and hoarding business ......All of the above is consistent with the semi-landlord kulaks, but not with the self-sufficient middle peasants"[9]. For this kind of rich peasants, the poor peasants shouted the slogans of "leveling the fields" and "completely abolishing debts", and they also believed that they should level their fields, abolish their debts, and divide their grains. ** The policy of restricting the rich peasants was adopted, and at first it was to "take more to make up for the less", but because some rich peasants and small landlords refused to take out the fertile land, and only some bad land was taken out, this would inevitably cause dissatisfaction among the masses and affect the mood of struggle. In the survey, it was found that "pumping more to make up for less" should be added to the "pumping more to make up for less", which provided a reliable basis for formulating a correct policy on the rich peasant problem and determining the land distribution principles such as "pumping more to make up for less, and pumping fertilizer to make up for thinness".
2.The state of business in the city.
The Xunwu survey not only investigated the rural areas, but also focused on the business conditions of Xunwu County. "It is ...... wrong for those who are always outsiders to decide on the strategy of dealing with the business bourgeoisie and winning over the urban poorI was a man who was determined to understand the problems of the city. ”[10]
** A comprehensive investigation of the business and handicraft industry in Xunwu was carried out, a large number of facts were enumerated, the 47 shops and 94 handicraft shops in Xunwu were engaged in commodities**, types, sales and competition, as well as the prosperity and decline of each other, the living conditions and organizational content of Xunwu City were analyzed, and their attitudes towards the revolution were derived from the economic situation and political status by the method of class analysis. From the survey, it can be seen that the status of the urban poor is extremely low, belonging to the class of the oppressed and exploited. That is, the 5% of the merchants, except for a few who colluded with the gentry and landlords and participated in politics, the vast majority of them were small and medium-sized industrialists and merchants, and they were also under the threat of bankruptcy and semi-bankruptcy under the oppression of foreign capitalist commodity invasion and feudal usury. Most of the shops and handicraft shops in Xunwu do not employ people or a few clerks (apprentices), and they are all small and medium-sized industrial and commercial enterprises. The state of the economy determines political status and political attitudes,** and it is believed that small merchants, craftsmen, who are generally able to participate in and support the revolution, are good allies of the revolution, one of the driving forces of the revolution, and must be won over and protected. These surveys further clarified the commercial situation in the city, proved that the policy of "protecting small and medium-sized businessmen" in the city was in line with the actual situation, and also clarified the relationship between the city and the countryside, which provided important support for deepening the theory of "the countryside surrounding the city".
3. The in-depth and realistic working principles and methods embodied in the investigation of Wu Wu, such as insisting on seeking truth from facts, adhering to the mass line, and adhering to the problem orientation, have important guiding and reference significance for the whole party to carry out investigation and research in the new era.
Although more than 90 years have passed, the investigation and research ideas contained in it have lasted for a long time, and it is also of great guiding and reference significance for comprehensively improving the investigation and research ability of the majority of party members and cadres in the new era, and the whole party is also very important for guidance and reference.
1) Insist on seeking truth from facts.
The attitude of seeking truth from facts is the soul and core of the investigation and research. **When carrying out investigation and research in the search for Wu, we always followed the principle of taking objective facts as the basis, and truly recorded the current situation of the Xunwu area. He personally did everything himself, walked through the streets and alleys, went deep into the fields, presided over an investigation meeting, and conducted a comprehensive understanding and grasp of the history and current situation of the political, economic, cultural, and social classes in Xunwu County, and made an objective summary on this basis. The two works, "Investigation of the Search for Wu" and "Opposition to Fundamentalism", respectively criticized the dogmatic erroneous thinking of the Communist International in the Party at that time from the height of practice and theory, which was the great beginning of the Party's ideological line of seeking truth from facts and an important milestone in the Sinicization of Marxism. In the investigation of the search for Wu, ** admitted that "there is a big shortcoming", "that is, there is no analysis of middle peasants, hired peasants and hooligans." In addition, in the 'old land distribution', the land of the rich peasants, the middle peasants, and the poor peasants was not separated." [11] Objectively illustrating the shortcomings of investigation and research also reflects the scientific attitude of seeking truth from facts.
**The general secretary pointed out: "Seeking truth from facts is the fundamental viewpoint of Marxism, the fundamental requirement for the Chinese communists to understand and transform the world, and the basic ideological method, work method and leadership method of our party. Regardless of the past, present, and future, we must persist in proceeding from reality in everything, integrate theory with practice, and test and develop truth in practice. [12] The "Work Plan on Conducting Investigation and Research in the Whole Party" also proposed, "We must persist in seeking truth from facts, adhere to the principles of party spirit, proceed from reality in everything, integrate theory with practice, listen to the truth, investigate the facts, uphold the truth, and correct mistakes.
One, there are two is two, both good news and bad news, not only books, not only the top, only the truth. This requires us to permeate all aspects of investigation and study by seeking truth from facts, carry out investigation and study frequently, extensively, and in depth, and strive to grasp the real situation more and understand the objective laws more thoroughly, so as to lay a solid foundation for doing a good job in all aspects of work and taking responsibility. We should look at both the "high-rise buildings" and the "shady alleys", and truly find out the situation, find out the problems accurately, and put forward practical countermeasures. It is necessary to avoid such phenomena as show-style investigations, group investigations, and dragonflies and water-style investigations in the course of carrying out investigation and research work, and make the ideological line of seeking truth from facts permeate the entire investigation and study. Only in this way can we effectively overcome subjectivism in work, make scientific and rational decisions, and effectively solve practical problems.
2) Adhere to the mass line.
** Always respect, believe in, and rely on the masses in carrying out investigation and research work. During the investigation of the search for Wu, ** went deep into the masses and carried out the investigation in accordance with the pre-prepared investigation outline. The survey subjects included people from different social strata, such as peasants, workers, merchants, teachers, soldiers, and intellectuals. "Without enthusiasm, without the determination to look downward, without the desire to learn, without the spirit of putting down the stinky frame and being willing to be a primary school student, we must not do it, and we must not do it well. [13] This sincere attitude also narrowed the distance between *** and the masses. With this sincerity, on the one hand, the masses will tell the truth, tell the truth, and speak from their hearts, and on the other hand, they will also be able to more fully understand the needs of the masses, feel the sufferings of the masses, absorb the wisdom of the masses, and better guide the work.
**The general secretary emphasized: "It is necessary to vigorously promote the style of investigation and research, deeply understand the needs of the masses, effectively solve the interests of the people, and constantly improve the people's sense of gain, happiness and security." [14] The "Work Plan for Conducting Investigation and Research in the Whole Party" also pointed out that "sincerely listening to the voices of the masses, truly reflecting the aspirations of the masses, and genuinely caring for the weal and woe of the masses" requires us not only to "go into" the grassroots level in the course of investigation and investigation, but also to "heart" the grassroots level, truly care for the people, and promote the investigation and research to be in-depth and practical with the people as the center. On the one hand, it is necessary to profoundly comprehend the basic connotation of the mass line ideologically and further enhance the style of work. In investigation and research, we must always keep in mind the party's fundamental purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly, always adhere to the people-first value orientation, and take the people's yearning for a better life as the goal of struggle. We should put the most immediate and practical interests of the people in the first place in our work, and correctly exercise the powers entrusted by the people. On the other hand, it is necessary to practice the mass line in investigation and study, have the people in mind, rely on the people in doing things, and implement the basic work method of the mass line in the process of investigation and study. We should resolutely resist and oppose the "bonsai" and "showmanship" that are "detached from the masses and floating in the air," "look good but are not useful," and "the cadres applaud but the masses do not buy them," truly discover the problems faced by the masses, reflect the opinions of the masses, sum up the experiences created by the masses, and constantly form opinions and policy decisions that can stand the test of practice.
3) Adhere to the problem-oriented.
**The question orientation of the search for Wu is very clear, that is, to understand the problem of rich peasants, the state of commerce in the cities, and the problems of rural land relations. This investigation is not an investigation for the sake of investigation, but is born in response to problems, needs for decision-making, and takes solving problems as the ultimate goal. "I conducted a search and investigation to find out the problem of the rich peasants and the landlords, and proposed a solution to the problem of the rich peasants, which was not only to extract more to make up for the less, but also to draw fat to make up for the thin, so that the rich peasants, the middle peasants, the poor peasants, and the hired peasants could all survive. If the landlords were not given any land, and they were told to drink the northwest wind, and the rich peasants were given only some bad land, they would be half starved and half satisfied, and the rich peasants would be forced to rebel, and the poor peasants and hired peasants would be isolated. At that time, some people accused me of being a rich peasant line, and I thought that I was the only one who was right at that time. [15] After the investigation of the search for Wuwu, the problem of dealing with the rich peasants and the problems of urban industry and commerce were well resolved.
We must adhere to the problem-oriented" is an important content of the "six must insist" put forward in the report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. The problem is the voice of the times, and it is the starting point of practice and innovation. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the general secretary has carried out extensive and in-depth investigation and research, and continuously enriched and developed the theory and practice of governing the country in the new era. Facts have proven that in the process of persistently overcoming difficulties and plunging down to do a good job in investigation and research, only by accurately identifying problems, clarifying ideas, and finding methods can we achieve twice the result with half the effort and overcome difficulties with more confidence. The "Work Plan for Conducting Investigation and Research in the Whole Party" also puts forward: "We must adhere to the problem orientation, enhance the awareness of problems, dare to face problems squarely, be good at discovering problems, take solving problems as the fundamental purpose, truly find out the situation, find out the problems, put forward practical countermeasures, and constantly put forward new ideas and new methods to truly solve problems." "To do a good job in investigation and research in the new era, on the one hand, we must be good at facing and solving problems as the work orientation, take the resolution of contradictions and problems as the starting point and breakthrough point to open up the work situation, adhere to the specific analysis of specific problems, and then scientifically coordinate the urgent issues related to the overall situation and the long term. On the other hand, it is necessary to give full play to the spirit of independence and pioneering and innovation, and earnestly solve problems. In the in-depth research, we continue to put forward new ideas, new ideas and new methods to solve problems, and truly achieve clear situations, great determination, and correct methods. It is also the key to do a good job in investigation and research to implement the results of investigation and research, work transformation and application, solve problems, and improve work, so as to truly transform the results of research into high-quality development.
References: 1] *Anthology, Vol. 1, People's Publishing House, 1993, p. 131.
2] *Selected Works, Vol. 1, People's Publishing House, 1991, pp. 116-117.
3] *Selected Works, Vol. 1, People's Publishing House, 1991, p. 116.
4] *Collected Works, Vol. 1, People's Publishing House, 1993, p. 132.
5] *Selected Works, Vol. 1, People's Publishing House, 1991, p. 117.
6] Collected Works, Vol. 1, People's Publishing House, 1993, p. 118.
7] *Anthology, Vol. 1, People's Publishing House, 1993, p. 131.
8] *Collected Works, Vol. 1, People's Publishing House, 1993, p. 198.
9] *Collected Works, Vol. 1, People's Publishing House, 1993, p. 198.
10] *Collected Works, Vol. 1, People's Publishing House, 1993, p. 132.
11] *Collected Works, Vol. 1, People's Publishing House, 1993, p. 119.
12] "Speech at the Symposium to Commemorate the 120th Anniversary of the Birth of Comrade ***", People**, December 27, 2013.
13] *Selected Works, Vol. III, People's Publishing House, 1991, p. 790.
14] "* Inspected and Presided over a Symposium on Deepening the Coordinated Development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei in Hebei", People**, May 13, 2023.
15] *Collected Works, Vol. II, People's Publishing House, 1993, p. 379.
Author: Huo Li, Deputy Director of the Second Research Division of the Party History and Local History Research Office of the Henan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China).